The MLB and its Players’ Union finalized what appears to be the last piece of the puzzle in getting the 2021 baseball season underway. The health and safety protocols were recently agreed on and they are extremely strict. Let’s take a look.

For players, there will be no indoor gatherings of 10 or more people (away from the park) during the season. No indoor dining at restaurants. Clubbing is subject to discipline by the league and can include suspension or salary loss.

The MLB adopted some of last year’s rules and implemented them into this season. Those rules include the return of 7-inning double headers and the infamous extra inning rule (runner starts extra innings on 2nd base).

The Universal DH will NOT be included in the 2021 season. With pitchers and catchers reporting this week to their respected facilities in Florida or Arizona, it’s time to scan and survey the good, the bad and the ugly of baseball’s rule changes, en voyage to 2021.

#MLB: “Okay, what rule changes do we keep for this 2021 season?”

Fans: “Universal DH.”

MLB: “Runner on second in extra innings?”

Fans: “Universal DH.”

MLB: “…7-inning doubleheaders?”

Fans: “Universal DH.”

MLB: “….”

— Joe Pantorno (@JoePantorno) February 9, 2021

The Good

One of the positive reported health and safety additions will be the “Kinexon Contact Tracing Device”, already in use by the NBA and NFL. Players and staff will wear this contact tracing device and it will provide the proactiveness baseball needs to help them complete a 162 game schedule.

Seven-inning double headers are another constructive idea for 2021. You can fit two baseball games in less than four and a half hours! How about that! If I’m gonna commit to watching four hours of baseball, let’s get the best bang for our buck.

The Bad

How did the extra inning rule pass but not the universal DH? This is where baseball doesn’t make sense and why I talk about the rigidities they can’t seem to shake. Nobody wants to watch pitchers hit .058? Baseball wants to intensify excitement, right?

Adding another hitter to National League lineups offers just that. Selfishly however; I truly believe, had the universal DH passed again for 2021, Nelson Cruz would not be a Minnesota Twin anymore. Unselfishly, hitting would become much more valuable in the NL leading to the further payout for players and more fun for baseball fans.

The Ugly

Major League Baseball’s new extra-innings rule, in which a baserunner is automatically placed at second base with no outs to start every half-inning, is a travesty. I thought I’d never see something worse than the NHL shootout.

In a 60-game season, fine, I get it, but over 162 games? A sacrifice bunt and sac fly can win you an extra inning baseball game. Let that marinate for a second.

At least, if the MLB was going to create this rule, have the team coming up to bat start with one out. Don’t feed me the ‘it’s electric’ and ‘it avoids the 17 inning game’. I’m not buying it.

Until the NBA passes the four point shot, this is the worst rule in the pro four sports.

Stephen Strom | Minnesota Sports Fan

Rule changes for the 2020 season were announced today by @MLB. pic.twitter.com/cXZrFzHv3F

— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) February 12, 2020

Major rule changes are official now that they’re on Twitter, but they’ve been agreed upon since March of last year.

The biggest change by far, will be a minimum amount of hitters that a pitcher must face when they enter the game. As you can see in the rule changes embedded above, a new pitcher who enters the game, must pitch to at least 3 batters before they exit (unless there is an injury of course).

The Official Baseball Rules have been amended to require the starting or any relief pitcher to pitch to a minimum of three batters, including the batter then at bat (or any substitute batter), until such batters are put out or reach base, or until the offensive team is put out, unless the substitute pitcher sustains injury or illness which, in the umpire crew chief’s judgment, incapacitates him from further play as a pitcher. The three-batter minimum will become effective in 2020 Spring Training beginning on Thursday, March 12.

MLB.com

I love this rule. I’m all about strategery and I’m a baseball guy, but changing pitchers 4 times in one inning makes me want to blow my brains out. There is nothing that slows down a game more than pitching changes. So, I’m all in.

via GIPHY

Other Rule Changes

• Rosters also expand by one spot, under this new rule. Instead of hearing about the “25-man roster”, we will now talk about the “26-man roster”. Only 13 of those roster spots can be taken up by pitchers, though.

• There are now rules around when a positional player can enter a game as a pitcher. In order for that to happen now, the game must be in the 9th inning or later OR a team must be winning or losing by 6 or more runs.

• 2-way players – There is something to do with 2-way player contracts for pitchers in certain situations, where they won’t count toward the 13 pitchers on the roster… there is a lot to it, so I’ll let you read more up on it here or here or here… because I don’t care enough

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan