Recent policy changes have been implemented with both the MLB Player’s Association (MLBPA) and MLB Umpire’s Association (MLBUA) in the last two years that will affect gameplay in the 2020 season and beyond. This comes with criticism from two different angles; one arguing the game doesn’t need to be changed and it will naturally fix itself, and the angle that in the age of social media it is urgent that MLB does as much as it can to attract attention to itself. Both sides are present in the MLBPA, who propose ideas to make the game “better”, through players’ perspectives.

From a fan’s perspective, I’m here to both analyze the state of the game today and predict how it will change in the future.

2019

In March 2019, MLB and the MLBPA agreed to the following changes to gameplay for the 2019 season:

• Inning Breaks: Changed from 2:05 to 2:00 in local games and 2:25 to 2:00 in nationally televised games.
• Mound Visits: Limited to five mound visits from six in 2018
• Trade Deadline: The July 31st trade deadline that was enforced in the past became a deadline for both waiver and non-waiver trades.
• Joint Committee: Combined MLB and the MLBPA to study specific gameplay issues.
• All-Star Game Voting: Two-round system formed. The first round will include a pool of all players in both the American and National Leagues. The second round will include the top three vote recipients at each position (six finalists for outfielders, pitchers still excluded), to where a single winner is announced from the three.

Now in hindsight, I think that all of these changes were seemlessly incorporated into the game. With a goal to reduce the time of games, however, it’s hard to say that these rules were a success. In 2019, the average time of a 9-inning game was a record 3 hours, 5 minutes, 39 seconds. This surpassed the 2017 record of 3:05:11. With the game becoming more analytical and shift-heavy, this could contribute to increased time of play.

2020

The following changes effective Opening Day 2020 are also part of the March 2019 agreement:

• Active Roster Provisions: During the regular season, the number of players that can be on the Major League roster up through August 31 will increase from 25 to 26. From September 1 until the end of the regular season, roster size will decrease from 40 to 28.
• Minimum Number of Batters for Pitchers: Each pitcher will be required to face at least three hitters, unless the half-inning has ended or a physical detriment incapacitates the pitcher from finishing.
• Injured List: The Injured List (IL) for players will increase from 10 to 15 days, reversing a change made by MLB just a few years ago.
• Option Period for Pitchers: Pitchers, if optioned to the minor leagues, cannot be called up to the Major League club for 15 days, increasing from 10. This is in effort to stop manipulation of minor league pitchers to save innings.

At first look, I like the idea of increasing the option period for pitchers and the time of service on the IL. Teams like the Dodgers took advantage of the rules and rode healthy arms and players into the World Series into 2017 and 2018.

The active roster changes I feel are going in the right direction, but the problem isn’t being solved the way it should. I would propose increasing the active roster to 28 through April 30, and keeping the roster at 26 for the remainder of the regular season. Pitchers may not be fully extended by the time Spring Training ends, and some hitters may not have their timing down yet, so having a couple of extra players can only help the teams. By the time September comes around, players are already in full swing and it creates an unnecessary reason to prolong game length.

The batter minimum I don’t feel strongly about either way, but I do feel that it’s a sad thing that pitchers in general have limited their capabilities, some turning themselves into players that face maybe one hitter per game. While hitters are becoming more versatile in the field, it seems as though the opposite trend is coming upon pitchers.

Beyond 2020: Predictions

In December 2019, MLB and the MLBUA agreed on a five-year plan that is highlighted with the idea of incorporating an automatic strikezone, creating “robo-umps”. This would surely change the player-umpire relationship. Critics say that it takes some of the humanity out of the game, while others suggest that human judgement is too flawed to be determining the outcomes of player’s statistics and eventually contracts.

Some other non-playing-related predictions for the upcoming decade in Major League Baseball:

• MLB Team in Puerto Rico: With many new players defecting from their home countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, it makes sense to have a team located in the middle of an enthusiastic fanbase such as Puerto Rico, a place where MLB has already played a regular season game.
• Addition of the Southern Division: With MLB looking to expand, it’s likely that a fourth division in each league is the answer. This will create a system similar to the NFL and change the playoff structure.
• Inclusion of a “Mercy Rule”: This one makes sense from MLB’s perspective, while traditionalists may not be on board with it. MLB is trying to decrease the average game length, and games take much longer during blowouts. It’s not crazy to think a rule change could come and cut a few minutes off of the average.

Here are some milestone predictions for the decade:

• Mike Trout reaches 600 HRs and 3000 hits: The all-time great needs to average 31.5 homeruns and 167.6 hits per season to reach those milestones. His current season averages are 39 homeruns and 179 hits.
• Mike Trout wins 3 more MVP’s: Trout won 3 MVP awards in the 2010’s.
• Gerrit Cole wins 250 games with 3000 strikeouts: The 2019 postseason legend signed with the Yankees in the offseason. He needs to average 15.6 wins and 166.4 strikeouts per season to reach these milestones. He is currently averaging 17 wins and 239 strikeouts per season.
• The Yankees reach 30 World Series Championships: The Yankees haven’t had a losing season since the 1990’s, giving them ample chances to reach the postseason and win it all.
• The Tampa Bay Rays win their first World Series: Winning 97+ games in 2018 and 2019, the Rays are ready to win sooner rather than later.

---

This concludes this post on the future of Major League Baseball, if you’re new to the page and you liked what you read, I suggest you check out the other posts on the home page and subscribe to be on the email notification list. Doing that will give you every blog post in its entirety right in your email so you don’t have to read it in another format. You can subscribe by putting your email into the box below or visiting the Subscribe tab linked at the top of every page. Feel free to leave a comment on the page, but if you’d like to reach out to me privately, shoot me a DM on Twitter @BPlim2 or you can reach me at brandon.admin@alookaround.blog.

Take care of yourself and someone else.

-Brandon