This February 24, the Dominican Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres was the first victim of the new rules after being called an automatic strike after he didn’t get into the box to bat in the first 8 seconds of the at-bat.
The 2023 Major League Baseball season will be different due to new rules that will include bases bigger ones for runners and a time limit for pitchers and hitters who hope it will speed up the playing time.
“At least get into the record books. That’s good. It’s not bad,” Machado said. “I could be 0-1 if I can get two hits in every game”commented the Dominican third baseman after the first game of Spring Training.
Pitchers and hitters will have all of spring training to adjust to the new clock which runs as follows: LThe pitchers have 15 seconds to launch, if they exceed the batter will receive a ball. When there are runners on the bases, the clock will increase to 20 seconds.
For his part, the batter must enter the box before the clock shows 8 seconds if he does not receive a strike.
“That moment passed quickly,” Machado said. “It’s definitely something we’ll have to get used to. It takes away your routine be up there and focus before launch. The umpire gave me a little warning – ‘Hey, you’ve got two seconds’ – but it was too late when I got there.
Despite the fact that Manny Machado was the first to commit a violation of the new regulation, the match between the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners ended without another foul and the players knew how to adapt to these changes.
The game lasted 2 hours and 29 minutes, which marks a clear decrease in the duration of the games, a goal that Major League Baseball has to attract more fans.
For its part, the other Spring Training game between the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals lasted 2 hours and 33 minutes. Although it is just beginning, it seems that the new rules are starting to take effect and players will have to adapt quickly.
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