Change Is a Constant...and Usually For the Better

Thru the first 10 days of baseball season, most of the talk has been about the pitch clock.  The pitch clock has achieved one of its main objectives.  Games this season have so far been about 25 minutes shorter on average than games last season.  There have even been a few games that ended in right around two hours.  Which has drawn a different type of complaint...from those who think games are now too short!

The pitch clock will always have its detractors.  Just like every change in every sport ever has.  But people will also get used to it.  And it'll eventually become something that's just accepted as part of the game.  Just like every other change that was once considered "radical" and some thought would "ruin" the sport that we now can't imagine the sport without.

Take the designated hitter.  In 1973, the American League introduced the DH.  The National League didn't adopt it.  There will always be the National League purists who consider the DH an abomination, but pretty much everyone else agreed that no one wanted to see pitchers hitting.  And now, unless their name's Ohtani, they don't.  The universal DH was used during the pandemic season of 2020 before becoming permanent in both leagues last season.

That's just one example.  There are plenty of others.  Batting helmets were introduced in the 1960s.  The pitcher's mound was lowered from 15 inches to 10 inches in 1968.  Intentional walks have gone from tossing four pitches nowhere near the strike zone to simply telling the guy to jog to first base.  Relievers are now required to pitch to three batters or end the inning.  And teams now start extra innings with a runner on second base.

It's not just baseball, either.  Imagine a basketball game without a three-point line.  Or a shot clock.  In the modern NBA, it seems like the three-pointer is the only shot some guys take!  Or to take it way back, the free throw lane used to be half its current size.  It went from 6 feet to 12 feet in 1951-52, then from 12 feet to 16 in 1964-65.  There wasn't a block/charge arc under the basket until a few years ago, either.

Or how about football?  Not only is modern football completely different than the game that was originally played.  And the NFL, of course, makes a slew of rules changes every year.  Some are dumb and not designed to have much of an impact.  Some they realize they don't actually like and are removed.  And some have fundamentally changed the game.

Until 1974, the goal posts were in the front of the end zone.  Moving them back wasn't just safer, it opened up so many more possibilities for offenses.  The AFL had the two-point conversion throughout its history.  The NFL didn't until 1994.  Overtime wasn't a thing until the mid-70s.  Since then, it's gone from sudden death to a touchdown on the first possession wins, but a field goal doesn't.  And in the playoffs, they've made it so that both teams get the ball in overtime no matter what.

Prior to the NHL's season-long lockout in 2004-05, it was possible for a hockey game to end in a tie.  Does anyone even remember those days?  Because we're going on two decades of 3x3 overtime, with games that are still tied being decided in shootouts.  It seriously was one of the best things the NHL ever did!

Is it even possible to picture a modern game being played without instant replay?  There isn't a professional league or international federation that doesn't use replay these days.  The NCAA and most college conferences require instant replay at their events, too.  It's a valuable tool that helps officials get calls right, which is what everybody wants.  

Playoff formats regularly change, too.  When the NFL added a 17th game to the season, they also added a seventh playoff team in each conference.  MLB added an extra wild card team in each league, and the Wild Card Game became a best-of-three Wild Card Series.  The NBA is about to embark on its now-permanent Play-In Tournament, which will determine the final two playoff teams in each conference.  And the WNBA and MLS change their playoff formats all the time!

None of the leagues has been immune to change within its ranks, either.  They've all expanded, and plenty of franchises have relocated, with those expansions and relocations bringing about realignment.  We've even seen the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians completely change their franchise identities!

Simply put, rules changes are a way of life in sports.  That's just what happens.  Even if something doesn't necessarily need to be "fixed," that doesn't mean it can't still be improved.  Which is what Major League Baseball's 2023 rules changes are designed to do.  The goal was to make a more enjoyable product.  So far, they've been successful in achieving that goal.

They all had a purpose, too.  The pitch clock was to make games quicker.  The shift ban was because it had gotten out of control the other way.  The bigger bases were to promote the running game.  Just like all previous major rule changes had a purpose.  Fifty years ago, the DH and lower mound were to increase offense.  And just like all future rule changes will have a purpose.

So, despite the mixed early reviews, MLB is confident that it's on to something with its rule changes.  Changes that will eventually become accepted as just part of the game.  Changes that fans who hate them now may even grow to like.  Or stop caring about.  Which seems likely once there's a new set of rule changes for people to complain about.