As a part of every Major League Baseball offseason, there are changes in the rules and the way the game is played. In the past, they have made new rules that they thought would completely change the game, but it did not affect it as much as they thought. These rules are rules such as the six mound visits per nine innings. There are many rule changes that could affect the game of baseball tremendously as we look forward to the 2019 MLB season.

  One of the most notable rule changes that has surfaced this offseason is the change from 6 mound visits per nine to 5 mound visits per nine. A mound visit classifies as the manager, or head coach, of the team going and talking to his pitcher, or one the players such as the catcher doing so. This could affect the game, but it will probably not due so real soon, seeing that most teams last season only used three of their six mound visits that were available. The change to five mound visits may not be an insane change to the game, but there are definitely changes that could affect the game in both positive and negative manners.

  One of the new rules that could be coming into play this season is the “Pitch Clock”. The MLB has tested this new rule out in Minor League Baseball for the past two years now, and they think it might speed the pace of the game up, which fans have been asking for. This would be the equivalent to a shot clock in basketball and a play clock in football. It would be set to 24 seconds to help speed up the pace of a game. This has not officially been added to the game, but we will see if this rule comes into play this season.

  There have been many rules set into place in the past that the fans thought would change the game of baseball for good. While these rules did not do what they thought, people are still thinking that the game may change from the rules set in place. With the new and upcoming “Rule Changes”, the game of baseball could be changed for the better, for the worse, or it may not change at all. We will have to see if these rules come into play this season.