MLB’s Next Order of Business? Saving Pitchers

When MLB came back from winter break a year ago, the game had undergone a makeover. The pitch clock came in; extreme infield shifts went out; the running game got off the mat. This year, the uniforms are different (derogatory), but the sport is largely the same. The tweaks on display on Opening Day were virtually invisible: Two seconds were cut from the pitch clock with runners on base. The runner’s lane to first base was widened, and umpires were instructed to crack down on violations of a rarely enforced obstruction rule around the bases. Each team’s complement of mound visits was trimmed from five to (gasp) four. On the rules front, this season’s stability seems like a lull between the upheaval of last year and the next inevitable affront to purists, the automated strike zone, which could be coming in some form to a big league ballpark near you as soon as 2025.