Baseball has been a sport throughout time that relative to other sports hasn’t changed that much. The introduction of technology and newer cameras has just recently allowed for teams to challenge a play. For as long as baseball has been around, the field umpires have had control over the game as far as the balls, strikes, and outs go. In 2008, replay made its debut. The umpire had gotten his call overturned. This was a big step for baseball at the time. Other sports have had replay for a very long time. Umpires still play a big role, but now the players also play a role. This year the MLB made some new rule changes to the game of baseball. This has stirred up the baseball world. Fans, players, coaches, and even umpires have different opinions on these changes. The umpires have had to adjust and stay strong when they have to penalize a team for breaking the new rules. The MLB implemented three new rules affecting the shift, pitch clock, and larger bases. The shift is something that allows players to move to areas that they think the batter will hit the ball to. Now, the MLB has banned the shift. This is one of the first new rule changes in the sport. The other rule change is that the bag is increased in size. This allows for the baserunners and infielders to have more room to make the plays. The baserunners have stolen bases more this year than previous years at the beginning of the season. The last rule that has had the most impact is the pitch clock. The pitch clock is a timer on the pitcher before he has to pitch the ball. The clock is 20 seconds and then is dependent on whether runners are on base or not. The batter has to be in the box and ready to hit with eight seconds left or he is given a strike. The same goes for the pitcher and is given a ball. The point of all these rules is to make the pace of the game quicker and have more action overall. The MLB wants the fans to enjoy the sport and not get bored. The pitch clock has decreased the time of the games by around 25 minutes from last season. There have been many pitchers and batters that have gotten called for a pitch clock violation. The league is adjusting but not happy about it. It is something that has mixed opinions. Time will tell if the league will keep these rules or adjust them. I hope they keep the game at its core and let the fans and players still have fun.