Among the several MLB rule changes this offseason were the pitch timer, a limit on pickoff attempts and the bases becoming slightly larger (and therefore, slightly closer to one another). An expected by-product of these rules was that stolen base attempt
Thanks to a number of rule changes, base stealing was back in vogue last season. There were 3,503 stolen bases across MLB in 2023, the most in a season since 1987 and over 40% more than we saw in 2022 (2,486). In this new environment, the bar has been ra
Pittsburgh’s Maury Wills is caught stealing third in the eighth inning as Giants third baseman Jim Ray Hart applies the tag, umpire Augie Donatelli signals Wills out. June 13, 1968 photo: Russ Reed The new rule changes scheduled to go into effect in 2023 might result in more stolen bases...
The stolen base in particular is emphatically back, as limiting the amount of times pitchers can throw over and increasing the size of the bases has made it a much higher percentage play. With that in mind, let's dive into the players who have swiped the
Last season he turned a corner, hitting 14 homers and stealing 47 bases, mostly in Double-A as a 21-year-old, then also getting a brief big league debut at the end of the season. He's a plus runner who can capably play all three up-the-middle positions (and did all three ...
Major League Baseball's well-received round of rule changes in 2023 aimed to bring the stolen base back to prominence. It has, and then some. The last three seasons have seen the three lowest caught stealing rates in history; approximately eight of every 10 steal attempts are successful. The...
Reaching the 20-home run, 20-stolen base mark is a very impressive achievement, yet it's more common than you think. In 2023 alone, FanGraphs tracked nearly 20 players reaching these marks, perhaps due in part to MLB's rule changes on base size and pitcher pickoff moves. Making the ...
Cash:When you tell pitchers he's not allowed to throw over, you're going to see the immediate effects of baserunners stealing. Fans spoke. That's what they wanted, so they're seeing it. What has surprised you most about the rule changes so far?
s 2022 ranking in categories that will be pertinent to the new rules — pitch tempo (which obviously matters for the pitch clock), defensive-shift frequency (since the shift is now outlawed) and sprint speed (since larger bases and restrictions on pickoff throws encourage more base stealing) ...
MLB catchers wary of looming robo umps amid rules changes 1 of 7 | Major League Baseball will institute rule changes in 2023 designed to speed up the game,, including pitch clocks and bigger bases to encourage more stealing and make things safer for the players. (Feb 23) (AP v...