By: Chris Andrews ’18

If you’ve ever thought about how much more you would enjoy a baseball game if it moved at a quicker pace, then you will like the new Major League Baseball rules.  According to the New York Times, the average game time in the 2016 season was three hours. These new rules should reduce the length of games by cutting out time wasters and leaving more for the exciting action.
This season, there were a few changes announced by the MLB. One change which will speed up the game is the addition of no-pitch intentional walks. The new rule will allow a manager to signal that they would like to walk a player. The umpire will then direct the batter to first base which eliminates the need for the pitcher to take the time to throw four balls.

“I think the rule is good because it saves the pitchers’ arms because they don’t have to throw four pitches for an intentional walk,” Alex Cheema ’18 said. “But there have been many memorable moments from failed intentional walks that can’t happen anymore so that makes it less exciting.”

The changes also include new rules regarding replay reviews. Managers will have a 30-second time limit to challenge a play. Replay Officials will have two minutes to decide on the review of a replay which will reduce game delays. I think that this will allow more people to show up to games and as well as get higher television ratings. As well as popularity, it will prevent less controversy with the replay to make sure that a decision is called correctly.

It will be interesting to see the impact the rules have on the games and whether these changes will be popular with the fans. Only time will tell if the increase speed of the game brings bigger crowds to the stands.