Sometimes when I go to my grandmother’s house, it can get boring. The same recipe of salmon repeatedly served, Frank Sinatra on the radio, The Andy Griffith Show on loop on a 2010 Samsung TV.
For years, baseball has been America’s grandmother’s house. Yet, despite top-tier talent and an electric playoff atmosphere, it has been stuck in a perpetual blandness.
Yet, after decades of America’s Pastime, grandma’s house is finally becoming cool.
There is palpable excitement around the 2023 MLB season for the first time in what seems like millennia. This is due, the way I see it, to two main factors: a World Baseball Classic that was, well, an instant classic, and the new pitch clock rule.
Let’s start with the WBC, which has been absent for six years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s something magical about a player representing their country in any sport; it means more when you’re repping your flag on a jersey.
That was apparent in the championship between the US and Japan. The game was back and forth, and in a storybook ending, Shohei Ohtani, the two-way star, struck out his teammate, Mike Trout, to close out a 3-2 win for Japan. The game was instantly hailed as one of the best baseball games in years and helped revitalize a sport that had been languishing for years.
The feelings surrounding the WBC, while impactful, are fleeting. The pitch clock might be the catalyst that saves the game.
For the first time in baseball’s history, a timer of 15 seconds will be used between pitches to increase the pace of play. This is a necessary change to a sport that has been known for its absurd runtimes. There may be a steep learning curve at first, but this change should ensure faster, more intense competition that will promote the game of baseball.
Baseball’s been due for an upgrade for a while, and with the WBC, a new pitch clock, and the usual top-tier talent across the sport, I expect a revitalized fan presence in ballparks across America. Play Ball!
Sports Editor
