Major League Baseball has been undergoing plenty of transitions as of late between the lockout and various rule changes. However, it appears as if the league is not done attempting to add new rules to the game. MLB is reportedly experimenting two new rules in the Atlantic League this year, per Fabian Ardaya on Twitter.
The first rule is called the “double-hook designated hitter adjustment.” This change would allow teams to keep the designated hitter active throughout the game regardless of if they decide to switch pitchers or not. But they would only be allowed to keep the DH if the starting pitcher goes at least five innings. This is likely an effort to push starting pitchers to last deeper into games moving forward.
Secondly, and by far a more intriguing potential rule change, is the “dropped pitch rule.” This would allow batters to attempt to take first base on any pitch in the dirt regardless of if the base is occupied or not. If a batter reaches first safely he would be awarded a base hit. This was designed as an effort to clean up the game and force pitchers to stay near the strike zone.
Neither of these rules are perfect, but they could play a role in cleaning up various aspects of the game. The dropped pitch rule could be exciting and would likely lead to more offense since pitchers would need to rely on fastballs more often than breaking balls in the dirt. It would also increase the importantance of catchers being able to block the baseball. These rules will be tested in the Atlantic league this season, and if they are successful we could see them in the MLB in a few years.
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