MLB institutes 'pitch clock,' shift limits for 2023 baseball season

Major League Baseball on Friday announced the rollout of several new rules that will likely prove controversial with fans but which the league believes will improve both the pacing and performance of the game itself. 

The league said in a press release that for the 2023 season it was introducing a "pitch timer" that will "improve pace of play and reduce dead time."

Pitchers under the new rule "will have up to 15 seconds between pitches when the bases are empty and up to 20 seconds between pitches with at least one runner on base," the release said. 

The league is also instituting "shift restrictions" that will govern the placement of players in the outfield, in an effort to offset the habit of teams to strategically place their outfielders within a narrow range of key positions based on expectations of where a batter will hit. 

The league added that it is also increasing base sizes "with the goal of improving player safety" and encouraging more base-stealing. 

“These steps are designed to improve pace of play, increase action, and reduce injuries," league Commissioner Robert Manfred, Jr., said in the release, "all of which are goals that have overwhelming support among our fans."