MLB Implements Changes to Speed Up Game and Improve Competition
Major League Baseball's competition committee has approved several rule changes for the 2024 season, including reducing the pitch timer by two seconds to 18 seconds with men on base and widening the runner's lane to first base. Other changes aim to improve the pace of the game, such as reducing mound visits from five to four per game and requiring pitchers who warm up at the start of an inning to face at least one batter. The pitch timer will now reset after a dead ball, and the clock will reset to 2:00 during pitching changes if it is under two minutes. These changes follow the success of previous rule changes in 2023, which resulted in a 24-minute decrease in average game times.