Major League Baseball will implement a couple of major changes for the 2023 season.
According to ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan, the MLB has voted to implement a pitch clock and ban defensive shifts starting next year.
The pitch clock will be 15 seconds with the bases empty, and 20 seconds with runners on. For defensive shift restrictions, two fielders must be on each side of 2B bag with both feet on the dirt.
The vote to approve these changes was not unanimous. Players voted against both changes.
The MLB world took to Twitter to react to this massive news.
“I love baseball. I grew up on baseball. But this is the wrong direction for baseball. To me, this pitch clock implementation says less about pace-of-play and more about desire to get the game over with. But it also feels like my words will fall on deaf ears,” one fan wrote.
“About time, I’m all for it,” another said.
“Totally on board with the pitch clock. Although I don’t understand banning defensive shifts. Seems like part of a team’s strategy,” another added.
“Banning the shift is like banning double teams in basketball, what are we doing,” another wrote.
How do you feel about these major changes?