Major League Baseball has announced new rules, including an expansion of runners on base.
Major League Baseball announced the new rules, which were approved by the Joint Labor-Management Competition Committee, in a press release today. The new rules will take effect for the 2024 season.
The most notable change is the expansion of the runners' circle.
Runners will be allowed to run from the foul line to the infield grass (see photo). Major League Baseball explained that by expanding the base paths, runners will have a more direct route to first base and will be protected from base running interference.
The rule change allows runners to have a minimum of 18 inches and a maximum of 24 inches, depending on the ballpark. Some stadiums will have a grace period to allow for the difficulty of field modifications.
The change allows runners to run inside the foul line as long as they don't touch the infield grass.
In addition, Major League Baseball unveiled several modifications to promote the pace of play.
Reducing the time limit for runners on base from 20 seconds to 18 seconds. The organization justified the time reduction by noting that in the 2023 season, pitchers entered the pitching motion with an average of 7.3 seconds remaining with the bases loaded.
The proposal to reset the pitch clock after a batter calls a timeout was dropped based on player feedback.
Regarding pitcher substitutions, the reset time will be adjusted from 2 minutes and 15 seconds to 2 minutes if the new player enters the walking track with less than two minutes remaining.
The number of mound visits allowed will be reduced from five to four per team. If a team uses up all of theirs in the eighth inning, they will have one more opportunity in the ninth inning.
Additionally, the pitch clock will start even if the pitcher receiving the ball is not on the mound. This is to prevent pitchers from intentionally delaying the pitch clock by hovering near the mound.
In addition, pitchers who warm up before the start of an inning must face at least one batter. This is to prevent "gimmicks" such as warming up a pitcher and then bringing him back in depending on the matchup.
The Competition Committee, established under the 2022 labor agreement, is comprised of six representatives from the owners, four from the players, and one from the umpires.
They held several discussions during the offseason and consulted with team owners, field managers, umpires' union representatives, and others to come up with these revisions.
The committee also decided to hold separate and additional discussions related to defenders blocking bases and pitching motions.
Seattle Mariners President and Competition Committee Chairman John Stanton said he believes the changes "will result in a much improved game for our fans."