One of the more interesting changes for the 2022 season isn’t going to be immediately evident to those first turning the game on.

Amid all of the talk about the universal DH and the extra-innings runner, MLB and the MLBPA also agreed to larger bases for the upcoming season. The surface area will be going up to 18 inches square from 15 inches, giving players about 99 more inches of surface area to work with.

While the change seems minor, the difference side by side is substantial.


Why did MLB make the bases bigger?

Baseball is making the bases bigger to promote player safety, with the happy side effect of creating more offense. The league hasn’t had a 50-steal player since Dee Strange-Gordon pulled the feat in 2017, swiping 60 bases (worth noting there are a myriad of factors contributing to this, including the forgoing of small ball due to historic home run rates).

Trea Turner led the majors last year with 32. More area to grab onto should make it easier to steal bases, and it’s going to be more difficult for a shortstop or second baseman to apply the tag to a player sliding behind the bag.

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As far as safety goes, MLB and the MLBPA are hoping the larger bases will give runners and first basemen more surface area to share in bang-bang plays. Twisted ankles are always a concern, so this could help to mitigate that risk. It will also hopefully all but eliminate spike attempts from players sliding in, while also helping players not get their hands stepped on.

What effect did bigger bases have in Triple-A?

Triple-A didn’t see much of a change in steal attempts in the half season it ended up using the larger bases.

In fact, High-A and Low-A saw significantly higher jumps using different rules. High-A used a step-off rule that forced pitchers – right- or left -handed – to step off the rubber before throwing to first. Low-A capped pitchers at two throws over per at-bat. High-A saw an increase in steals per nine innings, while Low-A saw an even larger increase.

This is to say, don’t expect a clerical change to prompt the reintroduction of small ball. It takes behavioral change to facilitate a shift like that.

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The bottom line

This rule likely won’t change much in terms of offense, but if it prevents injuries and reduces clutter on the basepaths it’s done its job. This change could also serve to limit the ever-frustrating over-slide, where a player beats a throw but passes the bag by before getting tagged out. Hopefully it will serve to reduce tiresome “letter vs. spirit of the rule” debates in the future.

Source: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/mlb-bigger-bases-new-larger-2022/rrvpggytykvvzyzf2aqmj8ds