Major League Baseball is making more rule changes heading into the 2023 season.
Earlier this week, a panel of team, player, and umpire representatives voted unanimously to make the league’s “ghost runner” rule permanent.
The MLB added the rule in 2020 to decrease any injury risks that may arise with a shorter season and players opting not to participate.
The idea is that if a game reaches extra innings (10th inning and beyond), each team will start each extra inning with the player who made the last out in the previous inning as a runner on second base.
According to CBS Sports, since the rule was implemented three years ago, the number of games lasting 13 or more innings has been only a fraction of what it was in 2019.
The panel also decided to change the rules regarding position players pitching in games.
The old rule was that a team could use a position player as a pitcher if the team was either ahead or trailing by at least six runs. Now, teams must lead by at least ten runs or trail by eight before they can put a position player on the mound.
The MLB previously announced other rule changes for 2023 in September.
Those include the addition of a pitch clock, slightly larger bases, and adjustments to the shift.
Pitchers used to be able to work at their own pace, which gave hitters fits as each had his approach that differed from the rest. Now, pitchers will be on a time limit — having to throw a pitch within 15 seconds with no one on base and 20 seconds with runners on the base paths.
The pitcher must start his pitch before the clock expires, or the pitch will be an automatic ball. Hitters also have to adhere to the rule when entering the batter’s box and will be given a strike for failing to do so in a timely manner.
Another new rule also charges pitchers with a balk for stepping off the mound too often.
The league is also expanding the size of its bases by three inches to emphasize safety and increase the number of stolen bases.
Teams have recently shifted their infielders around to different areas on the field based on specific hitters and their tendencies. This season, the MLB has added a rule that says all infielders must be on the infield when a pitch is thrown, and teams must have two players on each side of second base.
Those players can only move to the other side of the infield during the next inning.
The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) has opposed some of these changes but is open to seeing how the game is affected this season.
MLB teams began reporting to spring training this week, and Opening Day is March 30.