With the CBA negotiations still moving at a snail’s pace, there has been rumors in regards to some of the agreed upon concessions during these negotiations. I do caution that these items are just rumored, as there have been quite a few misleading tweets that things were “agreed” to before.

The big 3 items here

1.) Ban of the Shift

As the MLB scrambles to find new ways of increasing offense in the game, this one makes logical sense. With that said, I absolutely hate the idea. Teams are shifting like never before as the ability to analyze and predict batters hit patterns increases. There’s been mixed opinions on the effectiveness of the shift, but with a major growing trend of shifting in the MLB indicates teams find it to be valuable. There is some belief that having additional people on bases will result in teams being more likely to play for small ball style baseball, although I haven’t found any data that validates or invalidates that.

2.) Implement a Pitch Clock

The rumored change to the pitch clock would include a 14-second timer between pitches with the bases empty and a 19-second timer between pitches with runners on. The MLB estimates this will save roughly 20 minutes per game, although they’ve had differing results based on the level of baseball. (Low-A that implemented this saved roughly 21 Minutes per game).

I completely understand this rule. It’s interesting, some of the most pressure packed moments are those epic moments of pitcher vs hitter and you savor every moment of the tension. Others.... well just take it to a ridiculous level.

3.) Make the Bases Larger

The proposed change would change a current 15” bag to an 18” bag, and the lip of the bag is altered. This was a new one to me, but it primarily stemmed around a few reasons. 1.) A larger bag is safer for both defender and base runner. 2.) A larger bag will prevent as many safe runners who “pop off” accidentally - which has seen a dramatic increase in out calls with the replay. 3.) Modest increase as there will be a small distance decrease between bags.

Overall, this rule doesn’t bother me on the surface, and doesn’t seem overly game altering in a negative way. It’s only a few inches, but I’m curious if the game will see some revitalization of stolen bases given the combination of this and the pitch clock.