MLB's Theo Epstein Discusses Pitch Clock, Rule Changes: 'We're Course-Correcting'

Less than one week into the 2023 Major League Baseball regular season, the new rule changes have already had a profound impact on games.

Theo Epstein, who works as a special consultant for MLB, told The Athletic's Jayson Stark and Doug Glanville on the Starkville podcast the changes are intended as a response to how the game has evolved over the past few decades.

"So we're really trying to get away from the way the game has changed, unintentionally, in the last couple of decades. … Really, we're course-correcting," he explained.

The main rule changes include a pitch clock to reduce the amount of time between pitches, limited pickoff attempts, limitations on defensive shifts and bigger bases.

It's still very early in the year, but the pitch clock and bigger bases appear to be the most impactful of the changes. The average game time through Sunday was two hours, 38 minutes, a drop of 26 minutes from the 2022 season (three hours, four minutes).

Stolen bases jumped to 1.4 per game through the first four days this season compared to 0.6 per game last year.

"No one, 30 years ago, would have sat there and said: 'Let's design a set of rules and a set of equipment so that one day, we'll get to a point where the league hits .243,'" Epstein said of why MLB wanted to change some of its rules. "No, that's not baseball. The league should not be hitting .243. The league should be hitting a lot higher than .243.

"Nobody would have designed a set of rules and equipment that would lead you to one ball in play every four minutes, or generational lows in stolen bases and doubles and triples. And no one would design a game and say: 'Let's limit the amount of athleticism on the field.'"

The 2022 season marked the third consecutive year that the league batting average decreased, and the .243 average was tied with 1884 for the fifth-lowest in MLB history.

Through Monday's games, the collective .327 on-base percentage is the highest since 2009 (.333).

Even though the changes have largely been viewed as a positive for the sport, not everyone is on board. New York Mets reliever David Robertson told reporters during spring training the pitch clock is "pretty ridiculous."

Following an Opening Day loss to the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto lamented the inability to slow his pitchers down to get steady when the opponent strings together a couple of hits in a row.

"It's crazy," Realmuto said. "Once an offense gets rolling and the pitcher gets on the ropes a little bit, it's really hard. You have to make a pitch quickly to get an out. Because momentum is going to be huge now with how fast things happen and the pitcher not being able to get a breath in."

Epstein did note the rules aren't set in stone and changes can be made after the initial adjustment period as the league gets feedback from players about any potential issues they might have.