Baseball is widely regarded as “America’s Pastime” and has been a popular sport for many decades. However, for many people there has always been a small problem with baseball: It is boring to watch. 

The average time of an MLB baseball game is about three hours, which for many people is a long time to focus on one thing. As a result, the games often get monotonous and repetitive, which causes people to lose interest. This year, the MLB has introduced new rules to help speed up games, make them more entertaining for viewers, and keep players safe.

Setting up a pitch timer, limiting pickoffs, and limits to position players pitching are all new for the 2023 MLB season. These rules will help to cut the length of an MLB game. 

The pitch timer makes it so that fans will no longer have to wait so long in between pitches. This will cause the speed of play to increase and will help to keep fans engaged. Pitchers now have 15 seconds to deliver a pitch if the bases are empty and 20 seconds if there is a runner on base.

Under the new limit on pickoff attempts, pitchers can now only attempt to pick off a baserunner twice per plate appearance. This forces them to have to pitch to the batter more quickly and speeds up the game. 

Also, there are new rules that make it less likely for a team to make a position player take the mound. This can speed up the game as batters may be less likely to get on base if a real pitcher is on the mound.

Along with speeding up games, the new rules are also meant to help games be more exciting for the fans. 

One new change for this year is an increase in the size of all bases on the field. This may make it more likely that a player will attempt to steal a base, as there is now more area for them to touch in order to be safe. This makes games more exciting, as there may be more action in each inning. 

Another new rule that will make games more exciting is the limit on defensive shifts. Now at the time a pitch is thrown, all four infielders are required to be on the infield dirt, with two players on each side of second base. 

This should allow infielders to show off their athleticism more effectively and create more singles. This should remedy the league-wide batting average decline, which as of last year was the lowest since 1968. 

On top of making games more exciting for the fans, the new rules should also help to decrease the number of injuries that players sustain. The introduction of larger bases should reduce the number of injuries on the basepaths. 

This change should be beneficial, as there has been a spike in the average number of injuries per season in the MLB in recent years. This change should keep more players off the disabled list. 

The new MLB rules are beneficial for both players and fans alike. Many fans will be happy to learn that games should now go quicker and the speed of play should increase. 

There will also likely be more exciting moments per game as it is easier to steal and get on base in some cases. Players may also have more opportunities to show their abilities, as the larger bases could keep them from suffering season-ending injuries.