MLB goes against players to announce MAJOR rule changes for 2024 season

The Major League Baseball previously introduced several new rules for the 2023 season which generated positive results.

MLB goes against players to announce MAJOR rule changes for 2024 season

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred (Pic Credit: AP)

As the year 2023 reaches its end, Major League Baseball has made a huge announcement for the future. The league on Thursday passed down the new rule changes that will take place from the 2024 season.

The changes will come just one year after the league introduced some new rules. At that time the major focus was on the pitch clock, whose implementation saw the average game time come down by a huge number. The pitch clock will once again take center stage next season as the time has now been reduced even further.

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Earlier the time with runners on the base was 20 seconds. This will now come down to 18 seconds. However, with bases empty, the pitch clock time will remain at 15 seconds. The penalty for violating this rule will remain the same. Several players including Max Scherzer had called out this rule after he was judged for violation of this rule.

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Meanwhile, any pitcher who is sent to the mound to warm up between the innings will now have to face at least one batter. Previously, some pitchers would take to the mound, get ready, and then go back to the bullpen.

Another rule the teams will now have to remember is the number of times they have visited the mound. The previous rule of five maximum visits to the mound to discuss with the pitcher has now been reduced to four.

The last big change is the widening of the runner’s lane towards the first base. The space between the foul line and infield grass will now increase from 18 to 24 inches, favoring the runners. Surprisingly all these changes were announced despite the disapproval of the players.

MLBPA blasts league for bringing new changes to rules in 2024

The new rule changes introduced by the MLB has once again raised criticism. The rule changes in 2023 were met with fury. Once again the reaction from the players has been the same. The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) has now blasted the league for these new changes.

A major reason for this reaction from them is because the players were against this move. Despite them not giving their approval, the league announced the rules, which will now come into effect from the next season.

Anthony Clark
MLBPA Executive Director Anthony Clark (Pic Credit: AP)

The MLBPA did not back down from attacking the league for this decision. In a statement released by the MLBPA, the organization’s Executive Director Anthony Clark called this move as “unnecessary“.

This afternoon, Player Representatives voted against the 2024 rule changes proposed by the Commissioner's Office. As they made clear in the Competition committee, Players strongly feel that, following last season's profound changes to the fundamental rules of the game, immediate additional changes are unnecessary and offer no meaningful benefits to fans, Players, or the competition on the field.
The MLBPA in their statement to the new rules announced by the MLB.

Given this statement, it is likely that players will raise their voices on these changes again in the upcoming days. How will these changes affect the game of baseball even further in the upcoming year is now interesting to see.

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