With a new CBA in place, MLB is instituting several major rule changes in 2022.
A pitch clock, larger bases, and a shift ban will go into effect in 2023, but that didn’t stop the changes that are coming this year.
In a sense, traditional baseball is back.
No longer will we see extra innings start with a man on second base.
Also, doubleheaders will no longer be seven-inning games, but instead will go back to regular nine-inning games.
In addition to these changes, the MLB postseason will expand to a 12-team setup, with the top two division winners receiving a first-round bye while the remaining four teams in each league play a best-of-three Wild Card series.
The universal DH is now in effect as well.
Here are just a few of the notable rule changes in the newest CBA ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/p6OBZfDjhT
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 10, 2022
The Times Are Changing
It’s good that baseball will be going back to its traditional format of games.
Having runners on second to start extra innings just didn’t feel like proper baseball to many fans.
Seven-inning doubleheaders made sense last year and the year before, but now that COVID-19 is on the decline, it makes sense that they would go back to having doubleheaders be nine innings instead of seven.
Expanded playoffs had been a topic of discussion over the past few years.
The 2020 postseason featured 16 teams as a result of the regular season being shortened to 60 games.
The league had long wanted 14 teams in the postseason.
But 12 teams is a good middle ground between 14 and the previous setup of 10 teams.
The universal DH is also something that needed to happen.
With several pitchers getting injured while batting last year, it makes sense that the universal DH would be put in place.
Besides, nobody really wants to see a pitcher hit anyway.
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