New York (AFP) - Major League Baseball's joint competition committee made permanent on Monday a rule change putting an automatic runner on base in extra innings for regular-season games.
The rule has been used for the past three campaigns after being instituted on a trial basis in 2020 as a health and safety move during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Teams will begin every inning beyond the ninth with a runner on second base until a winner is determined.
In addition to easing the workload on pitchers, the change produces a better chance of avoiding extended extra-inning contests.
The competition committee -- comprised of four players, an umpire and six MLB representatives -- also tweaked a rule regarding using position players as pitchers.
In 2022, position players could not serve as pitchers unless it was in extra innings or his team was ahead or trailing by six or more runs.
The rule notably did not apply to designated two-way players such as Japanese star Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels.
Starting this season, position players can take the mound only in extra innings, if his team trails by at least eight runs at any point or his team is winning by at least 10 runs in the ninth inning.
There was a major jump in recent seasons in the number of position players used as pitchers, including a record 132 such situations in 2022.The old mark had been 90 in 2019.
Other rule changes coming to MLB for the 2023 campaign include a pitch timer, larger bases and a limit on how much fielders can shift their defensive positions against batters.
