Players, managers react to new rules in action

A new era of baseball began Friday in Arizona, when two games were played to open the Cactus League schedule using the new rule changes implemented by MLB -- the Mariners took on the Padres in Peoria and the Rangers faced the Royals in Surprise.

The early returns suggest that the rule changes are going to be a hit.

“If this is going to be the pace of these games, I'm OK with it,” said manager Bob Melvin, whose Padres lost to the Mariners, 3-2. "First look, so far, so good.”

? More on 2023 MLB rule changes

For you trivia buffs out there, the first violation of the rules came during a Manny Machado plate appearance against Robbie Ray in the first inning of the Mariners-Padres game. Machado did not have both feet in the batter’s box when the new pitch timer was down to eight seconds, resulting in an automatic strike.

“I’m going down in the history books,” said Machado, who went 2-for-2 with a pair of singles. “Right at eight seconds, you’ve gotta be ready, engaged and looking at the pitcher.”

To create a better pace of play, there is now a 30-second timer between batters and then a 15-second timer between each pitch with the bases empty and a 20-second timer between each pitch with runners on base. The batter must be in the batter’s box and alert to the pitcher by the eight-second mark on the timer or else be charged with an automatic strike.

The three other major rule changes involve a limit on pickoff attempts by the pitcher, infield shift restrictions and larger bases.

Moving forward, pitchers will be allowed no more than two disengagements from the pitching rubber, whether for a pickoff attempt or just to step off. The defensive team must have two infielders on each side of second base, and every infielder’s feet must be on the infield dirt when each pitch is thrown. The larger bases are designed to promote player safety and potentially lead to an increase in steal attempts.

For his part, Ray found the pitch timer to be a boost to his rhythm on the mound. The former Cy Young Award winner started and threw two scoreless innings for Seattle, giving up two hits while walking one and striking out one.

“I feel like it kind of actually helped me really gauge how much time you really do have,” Ray said. “So for me, I feel like I work better when I'm working faster, so it kind of gave me a gauge to work off of.”

His counterpart, Nick Martinez, felt much the same way, adding that there was another factor to thank for how smoothly things went for him.

"[It was] fun, fast. I definitely felt it," Martinez said. "A way to kind of alleviate the pressure of the [pitch timer] was having the PitchCom with me. For the majority of the time, Campy [catcher Luis Campusano] was calling the game, but if I ever had an inkling or a pitch that kind of stood out that I wanted to use, I just pressed it."

The Mariners’ win over the Padres was played in a crisp two hours and 29 minutes. The other Cactus League game of the day, a 6-5 walk-off win for the Royals over the Rangers, was played in two hours and 33 minutes.

Right-hander Glenn Otto started for Texas against Kansas City, giving up two runs on one hit, walking one and striking out five in two innings. He also gave the new pitch timer a positive review.

“I liked the pace of play,” Otto said. “I liked how when I went and chased a foul ball to the dugout, they didn't start the timer until I got back to the back of the rubber. I think I was caught with a runner on base once where we had one second and I had to get it going. But we've been practicing with it. … Change is always going to make some people uncomfortable, but I felt good with it."

So did Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien, who didn’t feel rushed at the plate. He said he was more focused on the new shift restrictions while on defense. The restrictions on infield shifts are designed to result in more hits, which Semien said he thinks will be the result.

“I was conscious about it on defense, just where I was standing just to make sure I wasn't hitting the grass because I know that's going to be a point of emphasis as well,” Semien said. “I think it'll be better for offenses to get more hits on the ground, especially our left-handed hitters.”

Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino had perhaps the most eventful afternoon when it came to the rule changes. He went 2-for-2 with a home run and a single that quite possibly might not have been a single without the new shift restrictions. He was also party to the first penalty charged to a Major League pitcher for not adhering to the pitch timer -- Rangers left-hander John King was the culprit on a 3-0 pitch to Pasquantino in the fifth.

Pasquantino, who said he “loved” the new pitch timer, joined Machado in the history makers’ club Friday, also echoing the humor with which Machado described the distinction.

“So my first three-pitch walk,” Pasquantino quipped. “History for me, that’s for sure. I asked [for the ball], but they had already put it back in play. Pace of play, you know.”

Both managers in the Rangers-Royals exhibition were pleasantly surprised at how smoothly things went.

“We were kind of joking before, we had no idea what to expect, but we thought maybe both sides would have had 10-12 violations today,” said Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro. “But I think there were only two. All in all, I was pleased. I thought it was going to be a lot more chaotic than that.”

“[The pitch timer] puts the game at a good pace,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “We had a couple of violations -- two or three -- but I thought there'd be more. I put it on four. But I thought the guys did a good job with it.”

It was Semien who perhaps summed up best what appears to have been a successful first day with the new rule changes in effect Friday. It’s different, but also the same.

“It felt like baseball,” Semien said. “So we'll just keep playing and keep getting used to the new rules.”