CLEVELAND, Ohio — Marshall Barron has been a baseball fan since he was a kid. He has a collection of Indians and Guardians hats.
“We try to make a point of buying at least one or two hats every season,” Barron said.
He’s also building a collection of street signs from ballparks around the country.
“I’ve been traveling to these stadiums with my daughter, and our goal is to hit every MLB stadium,” Barron said.
He’s seen a number of rule changes as well. Last year the major league began allowing a designated hitter in the National League. Barron said this year’s rule changes will make the game faster.
Similar to a shot clock in basketball, there’s now a pitch clock in Major League Baseball. Pitchers will have 20 seconds to start their throwing motion if there’s a baserunner on, and 15 seconds if the bases are empty, otherwise it’s an automatic ball. Batters must be in the batter’s box by the 8 second mark or receive an automatic strike.
The Guardians were in the longest scoreless postseason game in major league history in 2022, lasting nearly five hours. Barron said that 15 inning game would have wrapped up in less time if the pitch clock was in place.
“I don’t think between every pitch we have to watch the pitcher touch his cap, his hand, his uniform,” Barron said. “I think he can just do it much quicker.”
The AP found that Major League Baseball had a league-wide batting average of .243 last year, which was the fifth lowest in history. Barron believes part of that is from shifts that would close up what normally are hitting holes for batters.
“I’m tired of watching baseball games where what would have been a single, the guy gets thrown out by the extra player playing at short or right field,” Barron said.
There will also be bigger bases this season. In the past they were a 15-inch square, now they’re an 18-inch square. The new bases are a much bigger target if someone has to slide. It also means first and second base are a half-foot closer to each other, meaning baserunners don’t have to run as far.
Bruce Epstein is the president of the Eastern Cuyahoga County Umpires Association. He’s been an umpire at the high school and college level for nearly three decades. He said the new rules can create more offense and make the game faster and safer.
“Bigger bases in particular are for safety,” Epstein said. “It keeps the space between the infielder and the runner more separate.”
There will be a limit of two pickoff attempts per at-bat. Barron says pickoff attempts can slow a game down. Reds pitcher Chris Welsh famously tried to pick off Vince Coleman of the Cardinals 17 times in one inning in 1986.
Barron said the pickoff limit and the larger bases will benefit the Guardians, since they’ve built a reputation for running the bases well.
Both Barron and Epstein said the rule changes will modernize the game, helping America’s past time get with the times.
