The 12 months 2023 received’t be remembered fondly amongst Red Sox followers, however throughout baseball as an entire this was a banner season that noticed the sport take massive steps ahead after years of stagnation and strife.
With the disruptions attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockout absolutely within the rearview mirror, baseball turned its focus to the long run and embraced long-overdue modifications that helped reinvigorate the game. The end result was some of the thrilling seasons in current reminiscence.
Now because the calendar turns to 2024, listed here are a few of baseball’s largest and most vital highlights of the previous 12 months.
Pitch clock modifications the sport
Every 12 months it appeared just like the video games saved getting longer. There have been extra pitching modifications, extra stoppages and each pitch felt like an interminable slog. With apologies to Rob Bradford, baseball was getting boring, and even the game’s most ardent diehards needed to admit one thing wanted to vary.
Enter the pitch clock, which instantly helped set the sport again on the correct path.
It’s inconceivable to overstate the pitch clock’s impression on the game. Without all that useless time video games moved at a a lot faster tempo, with the identical quantity of motion now condensed right into a extra pleasing viewing expertise. Shorter video games additionally meant fewer video games dragging deep into the night time, which made it simpler for followers to remain up and watch even after they had faculty or work the following morning.
Overall the common size of a nine-inning recreation dropped to 2 hours and 40 minutes, a 24-minute lower from 2022, and based on MLB the game additionally noticed a spike in batting common and essentially the most stolen bases in almost 40 years. Even although the Red Sox nonetheless averaged a number of the longest video games in MLB, their video games went from a bloated 3:11 to a way more manageable 2:45.
The pitch clock nonetheless has its critics, particularly amongst gamers who really feel it has contributed to an increase in pitcher accidents, however there’s no denying it’s had the specified impact on enhancing baseball’s lackadaisical tempo.
Rangers finish 62-year drought
A decade in the past it appeared as if Texas’ time had lastly come. The Rangers made back-to-back World Series in 2010-11 and within the latter occasion got here inside one strike of ending off the St. Louis Cardinals. Then the birds rallied in beautiful trend, and the Rangers have been left to surprise the way it all slipped away.
This time Texas wouldn’t be denied.
This October the Rangers ended certainly one of baseball’s longest title droughts, successful their first World Series in franchise historical past by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks in a decisive five-game beatdown. Having overcome a brutal run of accidents that almost saved them out of the playoffs solely, Texas rolled by way of the postseason and went undefeated in highway playoff video games, capping off its run with a 5-0 shutout within the clinching Game 5 at Chase Field.
With the win Bruce Bochy earned his fourth World Series victory as a supervisor, and the franchise snapped a 62-year title drought stretching again to the membership’s founding because the Washington Senators in 1961. The membership relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth space and have become the Rangers in 1972, and now Texas is effectively set as much as contend for an additional championship within the coming years.
An all-time World Baseball Classic
Before the season even started followers have been handled to an unbelievable showcase, as lots of baseball’s largest stars represented their nations in what was possible essentially the most profitable worldwide baseball match ever held.
By most measures the 2023 World Baseball Classic was a triumph, that includes historic attendance and tv viewership together with some of the aggressive fields for the reason that match was established in 2006. You had the Group of Death that includes powerhouses just like the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, together with Cinderella tales like Italy and Australia, every of whom beat out a lot bigger baseball nations to advance to the knockout rounds.
Finally all of it culminated in an epic showdown between the defending champion Team USA and Samurai Japan, which was fittingly determined by former Angels teammates Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout dealing with off in opposition to each other with the sport on the road for the primary time of their careers. Ohtani obtained the higher of the three-time MVP, clinching Japan’s victory and cementing his standing as certainly one of Japan’s all-time sporting legends.
Ohtani, Acuña ship seasons for the ages
Ohtani, clearly, was solely simply getting began. Once the season started he resumed his assault on baseball historical past and turned in his third straight season as a two-way cheat code.
At the plate Ohtani remained certainly one of baseball’s most harmful hitters, batting .304 with 44 house runs, 95 RBI, 20 stolen bases and an MLB-best 1.066 OPS, and on the mound he was possible on tempo for a second-straight top-five Cy Young end earlier than getting damage in August. Even nonetheless, he went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings (23 begins), and after the season he was unanimously named A.L. MVP for the second time in his profession.
Meanwhile, Atlanta Braves five-tool celebrity Ronald Acuña Jr. turned in a historic marketing campaign of his personal, changing into the primary participant in historical past to document 40 house runs and 70 stolen bases in a season.
Before Acuña, no person had ever even had a 40-50 season, a lot much less 40-70.
Acuña received N.L. MVP honors unanimously as effectively, shunting apart a problem from Dodgers nice Mookie Betts that will have been a straightforward MVP case in virtually another 12 months. Now with Ohtani leaping to the Dodgers the 2 determine to go face to face in lots of MVP races to come back, and possibly some massive playoff sequence in October as effectively.
Miguel Cabrera wraps up historic profession
Miguel Cabrera will go down as one of many best gamers in baseball historical past, and although he’s long gone his prime, it was nonetheless particular seeing him take the sphere one final time.
Throughout his closing season, and particularly down the stretch in September, Cabrera was showered with love from followers at each park he visited. He acquired a standing ovation from the group throughout his final at bat at Fenway Park in August, and on Sept. 27 he hit the final house run of his profession in an 8-0 house win over the Kansas City Royals.
The closing profession numbers for Cabrera: a .306 common, 3,174 hits, 511 house runs, 1,881 RBI, .901 OPS, two MVPs, 12 All-Star nods, 4 batting titles, the primary Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 and a World Series championship as a rookie in 2003. That resume ought to comfortably earn Cabrera enshrinement in Cooperstown 5 years from now.
Young Sox stars step up
This previous season introduced principally lowlights for the Red Sox, however one encouraging improvement was the strides taken by a number of younger up-and-comers who the membership hopes to construct round for years to come back.
Jarren Duran, who had virtually turn out to be an afterthought after two failed call-ups in 2021 and 2022, lastly delivered on his immense promise and established himself as a possible top-of-the-order fixture. Triston Casas additionally proved his value as a longtime high prospect, ending third within the Rookie of the Year vote whereas posting a monster second half, and Brayan Bello took an enormous leap ahead to determine himself as Boston’s finest beginning pitcher at simply 24 years outdated.
Those three ought to play a significant function for Boston going ahead, however simply as encouraging as their progress within the massive leagues was the breakout loved within the minors by Roman Anthony. In his first full skilled season the 19-year-old outfielder elevated himself from an intriguing current draft decide to a Top 20 general prospect, and if he continues on his present trajectory it’s not loopy to think about he could possibly be beginning in Boston as quickly as 2025.
Between the three who’ve already arrived and the large prospects rising by way of the ranks, the long run is wanting shiny for the Red Sox whilst the current stays irritating.
Dodgers load up for large 2024
Coming into the offseason there have been two apparent prizes up for grabs on the free agent market, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Dodgers obtained them each.
If there have been ever any doubts over their place as baseball’s premier group, the Dodgers put them to relaxation with a forceful offseason that ought to guarantee Los Angeles goes into 2024 as heavy World Series favorites. Between Ohtani, Yamamoto, fellow newcomer Tyler Glasnow and returning stars like Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers have assembled a veritable tremendous crew, and extra might nonetheless be on the best way.
Can anybody else compete? Of course, that is baseball. People felt equally concerning the New York Mets and San Diego Padres after their massive offseasons final 12 months, and the Atlanta Braves aren’t precisely a pushover within the National League. Still, by committing greater than $1 billion in future payroll to bolstering what was already a loaded roster, the Dodgers have planted their flag on the middle of the baseball world and thrown down the gauntlet to the remainder of the league.
Whether or not anybody else can sustain shall be one of many dominant tales of 2024. Buckle up.
Source: www.bostonherald.com