Gallo believes new rules will create excitement, draw in fans

How will Major League Baseball’s new guidelines for the 2023 season impression the sport? We can begin offering solutions to that query when Spring Training video games start this weekend.

Shift restrictions, a pitch timer, greater bases – there can be an adjustment interval for gamers and followers alike. But you may rely Twins slugger Joey Gallo as somebody who’s all for the adjustments, which purpose to quicken the sport’s tempo and enhance offense.

For Gallo, extra offense means extra pleasure.

“I just don’t think people want to watch pitching and defense,” he stated not too long ago on the Audacy Original Podcast Baseball Isn’t Boring with WEEI’s Rob Bradford. “I believe they need to see individuals hitting the ball and scoring runs and working across the bases.

“Hopefully these rule changes kind of implement a little bit more action and entertainment for the casual fan and not just always the diehard baseball fan. I think, for baseball, you’re trying to attract a bigger, grander audience, and it’s hard to do that if it’s just not exciting to watch and slow-paced games.”

Gallo equated lower-scoring MLB video games to a few of the matches he noticed in the course of the 2022 FIFA World Cup that led to 0-0 attracts.

“To me, we’ve got to open up our eyes a little bit and understand the world now,” he stated. “If we want to attract the younger demographic, they want to see offense, they want to see homers, they want to see people running the bases, they want to see excitement and they want to get up and cheer. … For me, I think that’s the biggest priority: creating excitement, creating a reason for people to get out of their seat and cheer. I think we’re on the right track for that.”

Gallo might or might not personally profit from the brand new shift restrictions, however with pitchers throwing more durable and nastier stuff than ever earlier than, he’s glad to see baseball adapting in ways in which emphasize offense and hopefully lead to a extra entertaining product.

“At the end of the day, the entertainment is for the fans. The game is for the fans,” he stated.