How 2023 Opening Day Was Highlighted By The Rule Changes

For the first time since 1968, all 30 teams took the field to kick off the 2023 MLB regular season, and there were plenty of storylines to follow.

Whether it was the 2022 HR King Aaron Judge launching the first bomb of 2023, Adley Rutschman having a 5-hit afternoon, Shohei Ohtani being let down by the Angels yet again, or even Adam Wainwright singing the National Anthem, there was plenty to take the National Spotlight.

But where we sit today, the top storylines being discussed showcased Major League Baseball’s news rules. And the overall verdict was a positive one.

And while some of the changes were not noticeable for the viewing public, like with the Pitch Clock (outside of the 14 pitch violations), others did seem to play a part.

According to Jesse Rogers via Twitter, there were 21 stolen bases and 2 caught runners in the 15 games. This was the most stolen bases on an Opening Day since 1907.

But, with the caveat of not every team playing on Opening Day, let’s look at the jump in another way.

Last year, the league average of stolen bases per game was 0.51. Over the last five years, it’s been 0.49 per night.

After day 1 of the season, the pace is already at 0.70, which is a 38% jump.

For context, this would make Jon Berti’s league-leading stolen base total of 41 look like 56 in this league average. The last time a player successfully swiped 56 or more bags was Dee Strange-Gordon or Billy Hamilton in 2017.

The other rule change of limiting defensive shifts reared it’s head Thursday, as the BAbip from all 30 teams was .334, which according to Codify on Twitter is the highest Game 1 BAbip in the league since 1990.

At the same time, the league’s batting average was 9 points higher than it was in 2022 at .252. This would allow the 2022 batting champion Jeff McNeil would have hit .338.

Simply put, these two combined changes to baseball are going to raise the importance of athletic, contact hitters, which the game has looked away from.

Sure the power hitters and starting pitchers will always take the largest contracts, and rightfully so due to their ability to impact a franchise paired with their rarity at a prolonged level. But the middle tier of players is where this will take the biggest impact, as a bottom of the order slot is now less likely to reside a higher strikeout power bat and more so feature a contact bat if they have the advantage defensively.