This is what the baseball revolution looks like

class=”sc-3778e872-0 cKDKQr”>

Baseball has a pretty good reputation in this country: the games are long and to the untrained eye, not much happens. But now things will be different. The American baseball league MLB (Major League Baseball), considered the best in the world, wants to make the sport more attractive with three massive rule changes. Blick explains what’s behind it.

Probably the most important innovation has to do with time: a stopwatch (“pitch clock”) for pitchers is introduced with immediate effect. This means that the pitcher now has only 15 seconds to throw the ball and restart the game. Before there was no time limit at all, the pitchers sometimes took almost a disproportionate amount of time. In addition, other possibilities to play before time and time-outs are also limited.

And the measures are having an effect: the pre-season matches lasted on average “only” 2:30 hours instead of 3:03 hours before. Just over half an hour less “hanging around” – and that’s only because of a stopwatch.

With this rule change, it becomes tactical: in the past, more and more infielders (fielders) oriented themselves to the batting habits of the batter (batsman) and thus positioned themselves tactically. That means: For example, if a batter batted right more often, three of the four infielders would simply position themselves on the right side of second base. This is now over: as now there must be two infielders on either side of second base.

With this refresh, the batting average, which had dropped significantly due to the defensive shifts, should be higher again. This also leads to more action and spectacle.

Until now, the four bases (run marks) each had a sideline of about 38 centimeters. Apart from the home base (starting position), the three bases are enlarged to about 46 centimeters. This is to prevent collisions and thus injuries. In addition, there should be more Stolen Bases because of the shorter distance.

A stolen base is a high-stakes game where a runner advances to the next base on a pitch without being knocked out by the opposing defense. With the move, the runner usually puts his team in a “scoring position” (quick ability to score points). This innovation should also provide more spectacle.

But not everyone is thrilled about the rule changes: traditionalists in the US are shocked and believe the new rules would destroy their beloved sport. But the introduction of the pitch clock takes the league back to earlier times in terms of playing time, when pitchers weren’t too long between innings.

How baseball will present itself in the first serious fight since the little revolution will be shown on Thursday. Then the MLB starts the new season with the “Opening Day”. (byl)

Source : Blick