What do managers think of new rules? Hear it in their own words

Baseball is back now, and that is always the best possible news at this time of year, with players on the field in Florida and Arizona. Here is even better news: The game is going to be better this season. It just is, because of three important changes that have been implemented for the 2023 season (and beyond):

1. The elimination of extreme infield shifts
2. The introduction of a pitch timer
3. Bigger bases.

There have been dramatic changes before in baseball. The pitcher’s mound was lowered in the late 1960s when earned run averages got so small you needed a microscope to find some of them. Then came the introduction of the designated hitter in the '70s. We started putting a runner on second base to begin extra innings during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and that continues. Replay had come to baseball before that.

But those changes were nothing like these changes.

• An inside look at how the new rules will work

No longer will defenses look like there are enough guys for a pickup basketball game on one side or the other of second base; nor will there be infielders looking like softball short-fielders in short right or left.

Put it another, simpler way: Shortstops are going to be shortstops again, and an awful lot of hard-hit balls are going to be base hits again.

“Especially from a fan’s point of view,” said Mets manager Buck Showalter from Spring Training, “I believe this is the way we used to play the game, and the way it was intended to be played.”

In that way, truly, some old things are going to be very much new again.

“And you know something else?” Showalter said. “The optics are going to be better. They just are.”

I talked to three managers, three of the smartest baseball men around, and asked them about shifts and the pitch timer: Buck, Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, A.J. Hinch of the Tigers. Roberts and Hinch have won World Series. Buck has been Manager of the Year in four different decades (and four different teams), most recently last season. I am lucky enough to be in contact with all of them as each new season unfolds, enjoying conversations that have been going on for years.

This season is a little different as we begin Spring Training. And the question for all of them was the same:

Is the game going to improve without the shift, and with the new rules involving the timer (the pitcher having to go into his motion 15 seconds after he has the ball with no one on base, 20 seconds if there are baserunners)?

“I think it is going to be better,” Roberts said. “Pace of play is going to be considerably better. And the optics of infielders will be back to being what we’re accustomed to seeing.”

That word again. Optics. All three men spoke of better optics in baseball this coming year. Another good thing.

“I think the elimination of the shift will open up the field and showcase the athleticism of the defenders, and that’s going to be good for everyone,” Hinch said.

And the pitch clock?

Hinch: “I’ll reserve judgement on that until I experience it.”

That is fair enough, for players, managers, umpires and fans, many of whom will be experiencing these rules for the first time. It should be noted, though, that these rules have been tested extensively in the Minors over the last couple of years, and plenty of Major Leaguers have gotten a feel for them already (as has any fan who has watched a Minor League game).

• A behind-the-scenes look at how the pitch timer will work

Showalter said that optics aside, ballparks are even going to sound different in the ’23 season.

“There’s going to be a little less of us all hearing the collective excitement in the park when a line drive comes off a guy’s bat, followed in the next moment by a collective groan when it’s caught by an infielder out there on the outfield grass,” he said.

Then he paused and said, “Just because I think I’m right about these things doesn’t mean I’m right. But in my heart, I believe that I am.”

Buck honestly believes that the pitch timer is going to affect batters more than it does pitchers (the penalty: a ball for pitchers who take too long, a strike for batters). And he believes that not only are pitchers going to be dictating tempo, with less time between pitches, but there might be less of an emphasis on trying to throw as many pitches 100 mph, or something close to that.

Then he was back to talking about baseball going back to two infielders on each side of second base, positioned on the dirt until the ball is delivered, and how some infielders might be exposed defensively.

“It’s going to promote a more well-rounded player,” Showalter said. “And in sports, that’s never a bad thing.”

It never is. Games are going to get faster, batting averages are going to go up. There are even going to be fewer pick-off throws allowed. For me, these aren’t just good things for baseball. They are going to be great things. Fans will see. In the end, that’s the most important optic of all.