2023 MLB Season
New Rules, same game, are there any big differences?
Major League Baseball, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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The 2023 MLB season has officially kicked off a couple of weeks ago which means a lot has happened since Opening Day 2023. The biggest change has been new rules, bigger bases, and faster game time. Which teams look to be the most hopeful? Which players made their debut? Which teams started hot? Which teams started slow? Keep reading to find out all of the insight of the MLB season.
Starting off, the 2022 World Series champions, the Houston Astros started off slow, they are currently sitting behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West division. They just came off a 3 game sweep against the Atlanta Braves who started the season off HOT to currently make them 16-13. The Texas Rangers are sitting in first place of the division with a record of 17-11. The rest of the division isn’t far behind, the Los Angeles Angeles with some of the best baseball players, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani are currently sitting in third place with a 15-14 record. The Seattle Mariners who have the famous Julio Rodriguez is sitting in fourth with a 12-16 record. The Oakland A’s have recorded the worst start in franchise history with a 6-23. The Tampa Bay Rays recorded the second longest season opening record by starting off the season 13-0.
Their streak ended at 13 after losing to one of their division rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays. Besides defeating the undefeated Tampa Bay Rays, the Blue Jays have started the off well as they are sitting 18-11 in third place in the division. Between the Rays and Blue Jays is the Baltimore Orioles who has one of the biggest rookie faces in the MLB, Adley Rutschman who went 5-5 with a homerun and now sitting at a record of 19-9. The Boston Red Sox have started the season 16-14 as they improve to fourth place in the AL East. The New York Yankees are sitting in last place in the AL East Division, they had a new young face making his debut to play shortstop for the Yankees. Anthony Volpe seems to have a big career, especially with Aaron Judge as his captain. The Yankees have started the season off 15-15. The AL Central has been pretty quiet, sitting in first place is the Minnesota Twins with a 17-12 record. The Cleveland Guardians are 14-15, Detroit Tigers are 10-17 (Javier Biaz got pulled from a game because he made an error… so that’s their biggest news). The Chicago White Sox are 8-21, and the Kansas City Royals are also 7-22.
The NL East is still head to head, the National League Champions the Philadelphia Phillies signed shortstop Trea Turner during the off season, but currently sitting in fourth place with a 15-15 record. Sitting in first is the Atlanta Braves with a 19-10 record, they faced some obstacles due to injury as they lost their Rookie of the Year, Michael Harris II. and their ace Max Fried was also placed on the IL for a couple games. That hasn’t stopped them though as the other members of the team have pulled through. The Miami Marlins and New York Mets are tied in second with a 16-13 record. It didn’t look good for the New York Mets when Justin Verlander was scratched on opening day and Max Scherzer recently got suspended after a controversial ejection where he got caught with sticky substance. The Washington Nationals started the season 10-18. The NL Central has everyone in a shock as the Pittsburgh Pirates are in first place of the division with a 20-9 record. The Milwaukee Brewers are sitting in the division in second with a 18-10 record. The Brewer’s big name Christian Yelich has been quiet with the start of the season but their rookie star Garrett Mitchell, has come up huge on the big star. The Chicago Cubs made big moves during the offseason as they signed SS Dansby Swanson, OF Cody Bellinger, and 1B Trey Mancini. The three have led the team to a 15-13 start. The Cincinnati Reds are in fourth with a 12-17 record. The St. Louis Cardinals are sitting in last place with a 10-19 record.
The NL West has been shocking for most. No figure the Los Angeles Dodgers are dominating the division as they are sitting in first place with a 17-13 record. The Arizona Diamondbacks are sitting in second with a 16-13 record. The San Diego Padres are in third with a 16-14, big stars like Manny Machado and Juan Soto aren’t pulling through for the offense. The San Francisco Giants are in fourth with an 11-17 record and Colorado Rockies are sitting in last with a 9-20 record.
So are the new rules helping the players and the game or is it hindering the game and the experience? Is the faster game time really worth it? It seems to be working for some teams more than the others, so we will see what the outcome turns out to be in the later of the season.
