MLB is instituting four rule changes for the 2023 season. Among the tweaks being instituted to speed up the game is the pitch timer. To prepare fans with Opening Day just seven weeks away, MLB has been attempting to educate them on the new guidelines, as well as the penalties for infractions.The pitch clock allows for 15 seconds between pitches when the bases are empty and 20 seconds when there are runners on base. It also allows for 30 seconds between hitters.If the batter is in the box and the pitch is not thrown in the window, the pitcher is charged with an automatic ball. If the pitcher has toed the rubber and is ready to throw, but the batter is not ready to receive, then a strike call will be applied to the count.MLB@MLBHow the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf893858361How the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf89 https://t.co/r5PEolXem7As with any rule change to a longstanding sport, there is going to be controversy. Fans are adamantly coming down on one side or the other as to whether the pitch timer is a good thing or a bad thing.Many fans, bemoaning the creaking pace of games in recent years, approve of the attempt to get the game moving along.Steve Mancl@smanclVery excited for this change! It's been needed for a long time. Interested to see how it changes the game. Now we just need @MLB to get their regional networks back on streaming services besides @BallySports. twitter.com/MLB/status/162…MLB@MLBHow the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf893863361How the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf89 https://t.co/r5PEolXem7Very excited for this change! It's been needed for a long time. Interested to see how it changes the game. Now we just need @MLB to get their regional networks back on streaming services besides @BallySports. twitter.com/MLB/status/162…Larissa Franklin, OLY@larissafrank26MLB adding a pitch clock 🏼 This is going to make being a fan so much more enjoyable! We’ve been rolling with a 20s clock in Internationals Softball for a couple of years now. It has sped up our game but definitely will be an adjustment for the pitchers! twitter.com/mlb/status/162…MLB@MLBHow the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf893361How the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf89 https://t.co/r5PEolXem7MLB adding a pitch clock 🙌🏼 This is going to make being a fan so much more enjoyable! We’ve been rolling with a 20s clock in Internationals Softball for a couple of years now. It has sped up our game but definitely will be an adjustment for the pitchers! twitter.com/mlb/status/162…Michael Nightingale@nightingalem39This will move the game along! twitter.com/MLB/status/162…MLB@MLBHow the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf893885362How the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf89 https://t.co/r5PEolXem7This will move the game along! twitter.com/MLB/status/162…Other fans come down on the opposite side of the equation. Baseball is one of the few major spectator sports created without any factor of time. There are no clocks, nothing to run down or run out. The game ends when one team wins the game by beating the other team down to the very last out.goose@gusnextdoor10I really don’t like this twitter.com/mlb/status/162…MLB@MLBHow the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf893885362How the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf89 https://t.co/r5PEolXem7I really don’t like this twitter.com/mlb/status/162…Brian Chapman@bchapsportsGet rid of this! #FireManfred twitter.com/MLB/status/162…MLB@MLBHow the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf892363How the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf89 https://t.co/r5PEolXem7Get rid of this! #FireManfred twitter.com/MLB/status/162…Jsutt@Jsutt88This is stupid twitter.com/mlb/status/162…MLB@MLBHow the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf891363How the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf89 https://t.co/r5PEolXem7This is stupid twitter.com/mlb/status/162…While attendance at ballgames remains strong, MLB is facing a dilemma as baseball's pace runs counter to the "instant" age we now live in. The game runs too slow for the attention span of many. But for many others, that's the charm of the game itself.FOTUS@JFeRg52If you're in a hurry to go somewhere while at a baseball game, then you should probably not go. I go to a game to relax, I always hope for extra innings twitter.com/MLB/status/162…MLB@MLBHow the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf895363How the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf89 https://t.co/r5PEolXem7If you're in a hurry to go somewhere while at a baseball game, then you should probably not go. I go to a game to relax, I always hope for extra innings 😄 twitter.com/MLB/status/162… https://t.co/23QK4HuzdhSami@kingsmithy7The beautiful thing about baseball is that it doesn't have a clock. This is just silly twitter.com/MLB/status/162…MLB@MLBHow the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf891363How the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf89 https://t.co/r5PEolXem7The beautiful thing about baseball is that it doesn't have a clock. This is just silly twitter.com/MLB/status/162…Ben Zibton@BenZibtonBaseballs always fixing things no one asked for twitter.com/mlb/status/162…MLB@MLBHow the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf891363How the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf89 https://t.co/r5PEolXem7Baseballs always fixing things no one asked for twitter.com/mlb/status/162…MLB experimented with the pitch timer in the minor leagues last season before introducing it in the majors for 2023. According to the Washington Post, the timer helped reduce average game time from 3 hours, 4 minutes in 2021 to 2:36 in 2022.Jason Prill@JasPrill19For fans upset about the rule changes:After a full season of minor league baseball, many of the players enjoyed having it, and there was not really a noticeable dip in performance or quality. Changing the game does not necessarily mean ruining the game. twitter.com/mlb/status/162…MLB@MLBHow the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf893363How the Pitch Timer ticks. A behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s new rule. atmlb.com/3jBzf89 https://t.co/r5PEolXem7For fans upset about the rule changes:After a full season of minor league baseball, many of the players enjoyed having it, and there was not really a noticeable dip in performance or quality. Changing the game does not necessarily mean ruining the game. twitter.com/mlb/status/162…MLB seeking to get games back under three hours on averageBob Melvin of the San Diego Padres argues with umpire Jerry Layne.Fans could expect to spend two-and-a-half hours at a full baseball game in the 1980s, but the length of games has bloated since then.In 2022, the average MLB game was played in 3:03:44. That was already down six minutes from 2021. However, only once since 2014 has the average length of a major league game been under three hours – 2:56 in 2015.