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In a season introducing a slate of impactful new laws - the pitch clock, limits on the shift, and tweaks to encourage base running - MLB couldn’t help but dive into more minor waters, breaking through with bends-induced plans.
The first: the extra-inning free runner on second base will continue in 2023 and beyond. Initially introduced in the truncated 2020 season, the runner - referred to as the Manfred Man, the zombie runner, the ghost runner, or whatever other snide label you prefer - the rule intended to halt the massive extra-inning slog fests. Gone are the days of 18-inning fever dreams. The next-day pitcher shuffling is now a relic. Postseason games will remain unaffected by the law.
With editorial restraint, the rule has proven effective. Mike Axisa of CBS Sports notes that “[w]ith the extra-innings tiebreaker rule, only seven games have gone as long as 13 innings the last three seasons. There were 37 13-inning games in 2019 alone, the last year with "normal" extra-inning rules.”
The other announced change pertains to position players pitching. Once considered a fun white flag to wave in a blowout, MLB teams, as they so often do, bastardized its original meaning, instead using fielders to save their relievers from extra strain. Jesse Rogers of ESPN writes that “[i]n 2017, there were 32 instances of position players pitching in a game. Last season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, that number jumped to 132.”
The new rule only allows position players to pitch in these scenarios:
- Extra-innings
- In the 9th inning, if the leading team is winning by 10 or more runs
- In any inning, if the losing team is behind by eight or more runs
According to Eric Stephens, the new rule would have eliminated around 39 instances of a position player pitching in 2022.
And now, the editorializing:
The extra-inning rule is an insult to baseball. As MLB continues down its path of restricting as much baseball to be played as possible, they concluded that, in fact, baseball is its own enemy and must be stopped. Games cannot breathe as intended. Close matches are frowned upon. The rules must closely watch over play, punishing the game for moving in its own way for the sake of appeasing teams treating roster spots like gold. MLB knows this; they use the original rules in the postseason because winning via the extra-inning runner is an unnatural phenomena.
The position player rule, however, is much needed. It was fun when Michael Cuddyer took the mound to toss a few meatballs in a blowout, but 132 moments of a position player on the mound is far too high. They’re calls for mercy; increasing the instances is sad. Although, removing the 39 times a position player pitched in 2022 still gives you 93 outings. Perhaps the problem is more that the good teams are crushing the bad teams at historical rates.
What do you think of these new or updated rules? How do you feel about the decision to keep the Manfred Man in extra innings during the regular season? How do you feel about position players pitching? Leave a COMMENT below.
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