Rule Changes for 2023

Let’s not give MLB any more ideas

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Another sticky stuff crackdown coming. More authority for umps to check at random, mid-inning, etc. Players caught using sticky stuff get an automatic ejection and suspension. Umps can also eject a player if, for example, he starts frantically wiping his hands when the ump walks over to inspect them.

Apparently this is in response to the continued resurgence in spin rates after they plummeted following the first crackdown. When players were getting checked at regular intervals, MLB found that spin rates were changing based on when the checks happened (gasp, who could have imagined). So now it’s going to be more frequent, more random, and with less room to get away with it. We’ll see if it works this time.