New Rules For Position Players Pitching

Source: MLB.com

There has been another new rule announced for the 2023 season in addition to many others, like the pitch clock, shift ban, bigger bases and the ghost runner rule sticking around. MLB announced new rules being enforced for position players pitching in the upcoming season.

This new rule will reduce the number of position players pitching appearances. MLB and the Competition Committee were motivated to enforce a rule that limited position players pitching but did not get rid of the idea completely.

Under the new guidelines leading teams must be up by 10 or more runs in the ninth inning to let a position player pitch, while the trailing team can use a position player any time they are down by eight or more runs. Position players are also allowed to pitch anytime in extra innings.

Previously, a position player could come into a game that was a six-run spread in either direction and this exploded becoming widely used by many teams. Because of this, the rule was put in place.

Seeing a position player pitch used to be a rare aspect of the game, however recently it has become more common. According to MLB.com, there was a record 132 pitching appearances by position players during the 2022 season.

Source: Fan Graphs

There was also an inflation in offensive statistics with position players pitching. Position players pitching can also increase the risk of injury for them since they do not train to pitch. In addition, MLB is concerned about players getting dinged by defensive stats, which could hurt them in arbitration.