It’s that time of the year again: Major League Baseball is back. The 2023 MLB Spring Training has come to an end and the regular season is upon us. This season will be a good one featuring some exciting changes, big rivalries and returning stars! 

Some of the changes coming this season are the strict pitch timer, restrictions on defensive shifts and increased base sizes. This controversial change has been met with opposition from fans, who say that the new pitch timer will rush the game. MLB put this into effect to try and decrease the time of games as they are running too long. After multiple studies were conducted in the minor league, it was found to reduce the overall length of the game by 25 minutes.

Restrictions on defensive shifts were also put in place. The new rule is, “Two infielders must be positioned on each side of second base when the pitch is released, and all four infielders need to have both feet within the outer boundary of the infield when the pitcher is on the rubber. They may not switch sides unless there is a substitution.”

Increased base sizes is another change that’s coming to the MLB this year. Bases used to be 15 square inches but have now been increased to 18. This rule also makes the length between bases shorter.

I got to talk to a few students at GRHS about what they’re excited about for the upcoming MLB season. James Stewart and Kieran Kennedy, both fans of New York rivals. James, a Yankees fan and Kieran, a Mets fan. They both had some interesting takes on this season

 James is looking forward to another good season for the Yankees and seeing a strong return from Aaron Judge. Aaron Judge had a record season last year with a whopping 62 home runs. Gold Glove Winner Jose Trevino is also on James’ list for top players to look out for this season. Kieran is looking forward to a solid season for the Mets. Verlander, while old, is who Kieran is looking forward to watching this year. When they were both asked about why they enjoy the MLB so much they both replied immediately with competitiveness.