MLB 2023

[MoeFOH]

MLB Thread for 2023!! ⚾

The new season is imminent... how's your team looking?... predictions for the season?... highlights... commentary... 

Put it all here! 

I'm looking forward to hopefully catching a lot more games than I did last year! Best of luck to your team... well, unless they happen to be the Yankees 

Go Red Sox!  

[KCCubano]

Well expecting a 100 loss season for the KC Royals. They just love the cellar! I will however watch the majority of the games once NBA and NHL seasons are over. 

[Guest Nekhyludov]

11 minutes ago, KCCubano said:

Well expecting a 100 loss season for the KC Royals.

The Royals may lose a bunch of games because the rotation is terrible behind Singer, but I think it'll be a lot of fun seeing another season of development from Witt Jr. and Melendez, and a full season of Pasquantino.

[KCCubano]

2 minutes ago, Nekhyludov said:

The Royals may lose a bunch of games because the rotation is terrible behind Singer, but I think it'll be a lot of fun seeing another season of development from Witt Jr. and Melendez, and a full season of Pasquantino.

Agree they have some promising young talent. Hopefully can keep some of them long enough to reap the rewards. 

[RedLantern]

Excited to see if the Mariners can build on last year's success. Potential to have one of the best pitching staffs in the game. Development of a few bats of paramount importance! Also excited to see the new rules changes play out in real games!

[tywindsor44]

Unfortunately, I’m a die hard Rockies fan. I would be really thrilled to be a .350 team this year. It’s hard to be a loyal fan when the team wants nothing to do with winning.

Either way, I’m thrilled the season is starting. Nothing like a warm summer night and the ball park.


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[KCCubano]

51 minutes ago, tywindsor44 said:

Unfortunately, I’m a die hard Rockies fan. I would be really thrilled to be a .350 team this year. It’s hard to be a loyal fan when the team wants nothing to do with winning.

Either way, I’m thrilled the season is starting. Nothing like a warm summer night and the ball park.


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I really enjoyed going to Coor's Field when I lived out there in the 90s

[Ford2112]

I'm a fan of Coors field...in my Giants gear! Maybe Kris Bryant can get healthy for you guys.

Gmen have a few young guys making a showing. Pretty good starting rotation. Not much new otherwise. I'm curious how it pans out in a stacked NL west . Be cool to be able to see different teams than ever before. I caught a Giants Tigers game last year which was neat. I'm always excited for baseball!

[traveller]

What do people think about the new rules? What are all the new rules?

[JohnS]

As per the MLB.com 'New Baseball Rules for 2023 FAQ', there are three main changes:

1. Pitch timer: The length of games will still be determined by innings, not minutes. But to create a crisper pace, there will be a 30-second timer between batters and then a shorter time limit between pitches. Pitchers will be required to begin their motion 15 seconds after receiving the ball with the bases empty or 20 seconds after receiving the ball with runners on base. If they don’t, they will be charged with an automatic ball.

Pitchers will also be limited to two disengagements from the mound (i.e. pickoff attempts or step-offs) per plate appearance with a runner on first. The disengagements reset the clock.

Batters, meanwhile, must be in the batter’s box and alert to the pitcher by the 8-second mark on the clock, or else be charged with an automatic strike.

2. Shift restrictions: The defensive team must have a minimum of four players on the infield, with at least two infielders completely on either side of second base. These restrictions are intended to increase the batting average on balls in play, and allow infielders to better showcase their athleticism with great defensive plays.

3. Bigger bases: First, second and third have been expanded from 15 inches on each side to 18 inches on each side, while home plate remains unchanged. The primary reason why the bases are bigger is safety, giving fielders and runners more room to operate without colliding. But the slightly decreased distance between bases could help runners on stolen-base attempts and bang-bang plays.

In summary, the pitch timer has come in to speed up the play of games but the secondary result of this will be that there will be more stolen base attempts (and more success at doing so). Maybe the MLB executive team want to see a return of the Lou Brock and Rickey Henderson eras? Since the early-2000s stolen bases have very much decreased, but I can imagine that the advent of Baseball Sabermetrics in that time has contributed to stolen bases not playing as big a part in the game as before.

Shift restrictions will probably increase the the mean Batting Average from somewhere around .265 to around .270 (this is just my educated opinion).

In any case, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred will clarify the rules before the start of the season on March 30th. It's rumoured that he will also add the following:

- No warmup tosses allowed in the final 30 seconds of an inning break.

- Baserunners in motion on a pitch will, after a foul ball, be permitted time to return to the previous base.

- Quick pitches will be averted by giving hitters in the batter's box during the final eight seconds time to get set.

The video below will give you a look at the difference that the pitch timer will bring for 2023 in the Major Leagues:

 

[RedLantern]

3 hours ago, traveller said:

What do people think about the new rules? What are all the new rules?

I havent been able to watch a game yet, but I was completely blindsided by the big reactions to the pitch timer. Before spring training all the talk in the media I consume was about how impactful the shift rules could be and some chatter about the bigger bases, nary a word about the pitch clock. Once spring training games started though it was clear that the pitch clock will have the most profound change on the game. I'm very surprised that there wasnt more talk about the potential effects of if though, considering that it was in place in the minor leagues last year - it's not like NOBODY knew how big of a change it would be. 

[Capn_Jackson]

My thoughts on the upcoming season are the same as they have been the past few years:

1. Baseball is not the same without Adrián Beltré, and I will miss that guy forever. Not just for what he did on-field and on-camera. I attended a lot of games, and many times sat near the dugout. When he wasn’t giving advice to younger players in the dugout, or throwing his glove at Elvis, he often went out of his way to wave at or even greet children who were seated in seats near the Rangers dugout. Loved seeing him at games, and I’ll miss that always.

2. I miss the “old” Rangers home, Globe Life Park. It was only slightly over twenty years old when they built this new one, and I understand firsthand how hot it could get during deep summer games, but that park was beautiful. It felt like home.

3. Maybe the Rangers will be worth watching this year……. Or maybe you won’t hear from me on this thread again until this time next year! 😆

[Ford2112]

1 hour ago, Capn_Jackson said:

My thoughts on the upcoming season are the same as they have been the past few years:

1. Baseball is not the same without Adrián Beltré, and I will miss that guy forever. Not just for what he did on-field and on-camera. I attended a lot of games, and many times sat near the dugout. When he wasn’t giving advice to younger players in the dugout, or throwing his glove at Elvis, he often went out of his way to wave at or even greet children who were seated in seats near the Rangers dugout. Loved seeing him at games, and I’ll miss that always.

2. I miss the “old” Rangers home, Globe Life Park. It was only slightly over twenty years old when they built this new one, and I understand firsthand how hot it could get during deep summer games, but that park was beautiful. It felt like home.

3. Maybe the Rangers will be worth watching this year……. Or maybe you won’t hear from me on this thread again until this time next year! 😆

You have Bochy. That doesn't suck.

[Ford2112]

These new rules will try and create more action on the bases. I'm reserving judgement. Just found out our 36 year old SS is hurt again. Sucks because I love Crawford but it's time to move on I think.

Oh and Manfred is a charlatan.

[MoeFOH]

I'm a fan of the new rules. I think it'll create a better paced, more attacking game without damaging the overall slow burn that I love about baseball. Particularly the anti-shift rule. Never was a fan of the shift in terms of viewer experience. A major league hit is not exactly an easy thing, so hitting into the shift all the time was just deflating on too many levels for me. The pick-off/step-off restriction is great, too. Plenty of base-stealing action... more runs... clever set plays...

Overall, I think the rule changes will be a good thing, but the Powers-that-be need to remain flexible to tweaks and exercise common sense if something about the changes rears up and slaps the game in the face. I almost can't watch EPL games now with the millimetre ridiculousness of VAR for Offside. 

[LLC]

I like the new rules. The game definitely moves faster. I really noticed it when I watched some World Baseball Classic game that we’re using the old rules and it was noticeable slower. 
 

I’m looking forward to watching the Blue Jays battle it out in the AL East. 

[Capn_Jackson]

9 hours ago, Ford2112 said:

You have Bochy. That doesn't suck.

I’m very excited about Bochy. Hope to meet him before a game sometime!

[Sir Diggamus]

Being a Cubs fan has been a long series of ups and downs over the last 20 years. Possibly looking up this year with the addition of a few veterans and a couple of big signings on the mound. If they can break 80 wins this year it will be a nice improvement.


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[Frinkiac7]

Looking forward to taking in some Twins games…although I’m not sure we won’t have snow and cold for the home opener!

[Matt Holtz]

22 hours ago, Sir Diggamus said:

Being a Cubs fan has been a long series of ups and downs over the last 20 years. Possibly looking up this year with the addition of a few veterans and a couple of big signings on the mound. If they can break 80 wins this year it will be a nice improvement.


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I feel for you being a Cubs fan. Went to school in Chicago, and I was there for the Steve Bartman mess  

[Ford2112]

Seattle is the new Chicago.

[sageman]

Low expectations for the Reds, but I've got opening day tickets. Nearly the highest seats in the house! Just excited to have baseball playing in the background in my office.

[KCCubano]

@Ford2112 Just looking at Royals schedule for first two weeks. Giants have KC for their home opener April 7th. We open with Twinkies this coming Thursday. 

[Capn_Jackson]

Going to the Rangers game tomorrow. It’ll be my first Opening Day game ever. Long gone are the days of Beltre, Napoli, Choo, Hamels, etc, but I am excited and optimistic about the infield combo of Seager and Semien. Great seat, too. I’ll be sure to post a pic up here tomorrow.

[KCCubano]

3 minutes ago, Capn_Jackson said:

Going to the Rangers game tomorrow. It’ll be my first Opening Day game ever. Long gone are the days of Beltre, Napoli, Choo, Hamels, etc, but I am excited and optimistic about the infield combo of Seager and Semien. Great seat, too. I’ll be sure to post a pic up here tomorrow.

Have been to many Royals openers. Good times! Enjoy