We are accustomed to seeing new ballparks, players change teams and new uniforms from year to year. But with the start of the the Major League Baseball regular season just weeks away, changes fans are not readily accustomed to seeing are now in the rulebook.
The two most noticeable amendments to the rulebook are the expanded instant replay opportunities and abilities for coaches to challenge a particular play at least once but no more than two times per
game, which is similar to the NFL. Additionally, baseball’s most exciting (and often most dangerous) play has been impacted by a new rule regarding home plate collisions, known to many as the Buster Posey rule.
Now the big question is: do these rules help or hurt the game? If you ask me, the answer is they help and hurt the game because they have benefits and drawbacks.
Challenging and potentially reversing a call adds excitement and has the ability to completely alter the game’s outcome. It also adds an extra element of strategy for when and when not to use a challenge. That will definitely improve the game.
On the other hand, after the sixth inning ends, the decision to review plays rests on the shoulders of the umpire, and plenty of questionable plays happen after the sixth inning. In the past, we have seen umpires make the wrong call on the final play of a game. Having the ability to challenge a play at any point during the game could minimize the frequency with incorrect calls being made, which is the whole reason this new rule was instituted to begin with.
As for the new home plate collision rule change, increasing players’ safety is a definite plus, but it takes away the most exciting play the game has to offer. The change also puts more pressure on the umpires. Under the new rule, umpires will be required to make more split-second, game-altering decisions than before. No matter what happens at the plate, the umpires have the final say.
These new rules can greatly improve the game, but at the same time, they add a lot of ambiguity to an already challenging rulebook.
Ultimately, I think these rule changes will benefit baseball, but I will not be surprised to see instances where the wrong call is made and a game is decided by the umpire’s judgment instead of team performance.
Christopher Miller is a sophomore studying sport management and broadcast journalism and is a sports writer for The Post. Do you think the new rule changes will positively or negatively affect baseball? Let him know at cm001111@ohiou.edu or @MLLRC93.
