Baseball entered March like a lion with the World Baseball Classic, an exciting opening day, and rule changes that could slash game run times.
The World Baseball Classic brought an unexpected rivalry between Los Angeles Angels teammates Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, who represented Japan and the United States respectively. With two outs in the last inning, Trout’s contention with the pitcher would decide whether the United States had a chance or Japan would claim a victory with three runs.
The Major Baseball League measured Ohtani’s pitch at 87.2 miles per hour, which managed to escape the clutches of Trout and bring victory to Japan for the third time in the tournament’s history. Because of his exceptional statistics, Ohtani was named the most valuable player.
Hideki Kuriyama, Japan’s team manager, believes fans were hoping for the teammates’ showdown.
“Everyone in America thought Shohei and Trout facing off would be ideal,” Kuriyama said. “Watching that made me think of how great baseball is. It’s symbolic of life.”
When it comes to American games, the opening day of the 2023 baseball season brought competition between 30 teams. Despite his sweeping victory for Japan, Ohtani alone couldn’t save the Angels from losing to Oakland Athletics in a 2-1 game. The New York Yankees bested the San Francisco Giants in a 5-0 match, with right fielder Aaron Judge sending a home run into Monument Park, over 400 feet away from the Yankees stadium in New York City.
Freshman Joseph Calabrese of Tinton Falls believes Judge and his team have a bright future for the season.
“Aaron Judge could be the best player in baseball,” Calabrese stated. “He has a great arm in the outfield, and he also hits an absurd amount of homers.”
This new season brings new elements to the mix with various rule changes, including the implementation of a pitch clock designed to quicken the game’s length. Now, pitchers must catch the ball and start pitching it in 20 seconds, or 15 if the bases are empty. The batter must step in the batter ’s box and be ready to hit the ball with at least eight seconds on the clock. Pitchers in violation of the timer will receive an automatic ball, and batters in violation will collect a strike.
According to the MLB, a version of the pitch clock was tested on over 8,000 Minor League Baseball games. On average, it cut the length of each match by 26 minutes.
Junior Ryan Martinock of Eatontown, who worked at the Jersey Shore Blue Claws over the summer of 2022, finds that the new rule improved games without significantly affecting them.
“It was barely noticeable, there weren’t any violations or anything and it just made the games faster,” Martinock said. “I think the changes have all been good for the game, shorter games are a godsend, and the bigger bases and pickoff limit promote more stolen bases which I really like seeing.”
While games may take a quicker pace, Junior Sam Silvestro of Shrewsbury, who follows baseball for the Cleveland Guardians, finds that the pitch clock creates less friendly viewing experiences.
“The intention is to make the games shorter,” Silvestro stated. “But it makes them feel more robotic and less personal. I personally enjoy longer games, which MLB is trying to reduce.”
A quicker game could provide a different watching experience for baseball viewers old and new. Commissioner Rob Manfred affirmed that any rule changes this season were aimed to appease baseball fans.
“We’ve tried to address the concerns expressed in a thoughtful way, respectful — always — of the history and traditions of the game,” Manfred said. “Our guiding star in thinking about changes to the game has always been our fans. ‘What do our fans want to see on the field?’”
With conflicts and changes, baseball continues to rake in a large audience and attract new fans. Channels such as Fox Sports and ESPN saw a 10% viewership increase on opening day compared to last year, as found by Yahoo!Sports. While the future of the season is uncertain, viewers will continue to support the sport throughout each game.
“It’s always a good time to start following baseball,” Silvestro said. “Because you don’t have to watch every game or follow a team obsessively to appreciate the sport. It’s a unique game, and anything can happen at any given time.
