From sports media talking heads to Walter White himself, you’ve heard the same message a thousand times this offseason: Baseball is going to look different this year.
MLB instituted several significant rules changes, with a broad aim at making games shorter and more action-packed. The former appears to have worked swimmingly during spring training, thanks largely to the pitch clock that has drastically cut down time between pitches. As for the “more action-packed” part, the shift ban has certainly impacted hitters’ success rate on balls in play—but the biggest change might be happening on the base paths.
According to data from the league office, stolen base attempts per game jumped from 1.6 in last year’s spring training to 2.3 this year. Bag swipers were successful more often this year, too: runners had a 77.1% success rate in 2023, up from 71.3% in ’22.
