The days of baseball games lasting well into the night are officially over.
Jesse Rogers of ESPN reported Monday that MLB’s Joint Competition Committee unanimously voted to make the extra-inning rule permanent for all regular season games this year and in the future.
The “ghost runner” rule, as it’s more commonly known, places a free runner at second base at the start of each half-inning during extras. It was introduced in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season to protect pitchers from injury and operated temporarily year-to-year in 2021 and 2022.
Since its implementation, the rule has largely been effective. Last year, only 11 games lasted 13 innings or longer, and none lasted longer than 15, as The Athletic‘s Evan Drellich and Eno Sarris mentioned.
On Aug. 25, 2021, the Dodgers beat the Padres in 16 innings, the longest game with the rule in effect. The game lasted five hours, and 49 minutes, with 489 pitches thrown by 19 different pitchers, per ESPN.
According to Rogers, the committee also voted unanimously to alter the rule permitting position players to pitch. In the past, position players could pitch when their team led or trailed by six runs or more.
Leading teams now must lead by at least ten runs for position players to pitch. When a team is trailing by eight runs or more, a position player may take the mound. In extra innings, position players can pitch regardless of the score.
These are just two of MLB’s several rule changes this season.
The infield shift is banned, and pitchers will work under a 15-second pitch clock when bases are empty and 20 seconds with runners on base. Pitchers will also have limited pickoff attempts.
Bases will switch to 18-inch squares rather than 15-inch squares, cutting the distance between bases by 4.5 inches.
A new schedule change is also in place. All 30 teams will play each other at least once in 2023, and interleague play will no longer rotate divisions.
Traditionalists may not agree with all or most of the new rules, but that’s the direction MLB has been headed for some time now. While specific rule changes have taken away an aspect of the game, such as the three-batter minimum, most of MLB’s changes have been positive.
In terms of player safety, roster decisions, and effective time management, the “ghost runner” is a valuable addition to the regular season.
From a competitive standpoint, however, it would be better if the rule started in the 11th inning, giving both teams one more “real” inning to play.
Spring training will be the first opportunity to see how the new rules affect the game.
