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Nothing conclusive came from that test, but with a new baseball season at hand, a raft of changes are being contemplated. Indeed, across the entire spectrum of sports, rules are being rewritten at a record pace.
For the new season, the MLB has made an agreement with the independent Atlantic League to test alterations to the game. Changes include using radar to help umpires call balls and strikes; requiring pitchers to face at least three batters before they can be removed (except for injury or the end of an inning); making the bases 3 square inches larger, and mandating that two infielders stand on each side of second base when a pitch is released (ending the practice of infield over-shifts). The biggest change of all, to be tested later this summer: moving the pitchers’ mound 24 inches farther away from home plate.
Major professional sports have fiddled with rules for decades. Some adjustments have significantly changed the games, such as the National Basketball Association’s decision 40 years ago to introduce the three-point shot. The National Football League has implemented more rule changes in the last 10 years than in any decade in its history—for instance, pushing extra-point kicks 13 yards back in 2015. And a few months ago golf fans were taken aback to see PGA Tour pros putting on the green with the flagstick unattended and firmly in the hole.
Sports rules are changed for many reasons—to protect players, speed up the games or make the events more interesting. Fans tend to accept the first two objectives but argue furiously about changes designed to alter the nature of the competitions themselves. Baseball does more of this than any other sport.
Baseball, after all, still allows pitchers to bat in one league but replaces them with designated hitters in the other. Individual teams are permitted to determine the shape and size of the field and even to manipulate the playing surface itself—from how high the grass is allowed to grow to how much water is poured onto infield dirt.
Nothing seems to bother the baseball powers more than the relationship between offense and defense, batters versus pitchers. In 1893 the pitching distance was changed from 50 feet to the present 60 feet 6 inches. In 1904 the pitchers’ mound was restricted to 15 inches in height. Then, after a particularly low-scoring season in 1968, the mound was dropped to 10 inches. The parameters of the strike zone itself have changed many times, as has guidance to umpires about how to "interpret" what’s a strike.
Last season, hitters were badly overmatched. The overall batting average of .249 was seven points lower than the year before. Remarkably, 2018 was the first season in which there were more strikeouts than hits.
It’s against this backdrop that pitchers in the Atlantic League will find themselves this year throwing from a bit further back. It will no doubt result in fewer strikeouts and more offense—until the pendulum swings back with new rules designed to favor defense.
Baseball would be wise to stay away from physical changes to manipulate the nature of the competition. Better to focus on lower ticket prices, good deals at the refreshment stands, more effective use of instant replay and some effort to speed up games.
Although MLB attendance was down some last season, baseball remains the great American pastime. Its rules and statistics are revered by fans, players and historians.
If baseball wants to test new colors for its foul poles, I say go for it. But when it comes to whether good pitching beats good hitting, I’d hope that players are left to settle that issue without further interference. The rules themselves should not be game changers.
(c) Peter Funt. This column originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal.
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