During the off season, Major League Baseball implemented a number of new rules in order to speed up the game as well as add more action and excitement. Perhaps the biggest change was the adding of a pitch clock, where pitchers and batters have a certain amount of time to get ready for the next pitch or face a penalty of an automatic strike or ball.
It did not take long for this new rule to cause controversy as on Saturday, the first full day of Spring Training game action, the game between the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves ended with an automatic strike called against Braves shortstop Cal Conley when he took too long to get into the batters box.
This has to be the first ever walk-off automatic strikeout in baseball history. It surely is not a great way to end what was otherwise a very entertaining ball game. Because this was a pre season game, there was not much of an uproar from the Braves, however, if a call like this is made in the regular season it would definitely lead to a massive dispute.
Some of the other rule changes that we will be seeing in the 2023 season include larger bases, a ban on defensive shifts and a limit on how many times a pitcher can throw to the base to pick-off a baserunner.
There will definitely be an adjustment period for the players who have played the game a certain way for their entire lives. Umpires and fans will also need some time to get used to these new rules, but ultimately these changes were brought in to help speed up and improve the game, which they will do, there just may be some controversy along the way.
