The 2023 season has been a home run so far, let’s take a look at a few hit stories. Opening day was rather special; a holiday for some MLB fans. This was the first year since 1968 that all 30 MLB teams would play and it sure was a success.

On opening day the Texas Rangers hosted the National League champions in the Philadelphia Phillies.

Former Mets homegrown ace Jacob deGrom made his first start as a ranger. He gave up 5 runs in his debut but unlike when he pitched for the Mets, he had run support. The Rangers were able to take the win 11-7.

deGrom was able to bounce back in his second start against the Baltimore Orioles winning 5-2 with 11 strikeouts. The Mets fandom is annoyed by these results since they thought signing Justin Verlander would help lower their risk of injuries with deGrom. But right now deGrom is healthy and Justin Verlander is out with a low-grade teres significant (back of the shoulder) strain.

One of the most talked about things this season so far would be the new rules, especially the pitch clock.

MLB has been trying to improve the game for years due to its lack of views. Over the last few years college and minor league teams have been experimenting with a pitch clock and this year it finally got its call up to the big leagues.

A huge factor why baseball isn’t as popular compared to other sports would be the pace of play. The pitch clock has been shaving about 30 minutes off games.

MLB also wanted more hits and fewer outs resulting in the banning of the shift. Teams must have four infielders starting with at least one of their feet in the infield dirt. Also, there must be two infielders on each side of second base, preventing too many infielders on one side of the diamond.

Not only does MLB want more hits but more stolen bases. With that, the bases will expand from 15 square inches to 18 square inches.

There is something new and exciting going around in the dugouts this year: teams have been adopting home run celebrations. The Cincinnati Reds have taken on the viking helmet and cape after sending one out of the ballpark, the Pirates have been celebrating with swords, and the Atlanta Braves have taken on a very large hat.

The Boston Red Socks made a new addition to their team this year with left fielder Masataka Yoshida. Still, before he could make his MLB debut he became a WBC superhero and had the nickname of Macho Man, so his teammates leaned into it, getting golden inflatable dumbbells to lift. These celebrations have definitely brought personality to the game of baseball which is much needed.

The Rays have been the team to talk about so far this season, going 13-0 before losing to division rival The Toronto Blue Jays 6-3. The Rays are now 20-5 with the best record in all of MLB. The Rays tied the 1982 Atlanta Braves and 1987 Milwaukee Brewers for starting the season with a 13-0 record. The Rays set a new record of hitting at least one home run in each of their first 22 games.

During the Mets west coast trip against Max Scherzer’s former team, the Dodgers, Scherzer was ejected for using a “foreign substance,” resulting in a 10-game suspension.

During the second inning, umpire Phill Cuzzi examined Scherzer’s hand and told him to go wash his hand. In the following inning, he was asked to change his glove. Before the fourth inning could even start Cuzzi checked him again but this time he ejected him. After the game, Scherzer met with reporters and even went as far as saying “I said I swear on my kids’ life I’m not using anything else.”

The first month of the season has been a fun one – now we wait to see what the rest of the 2023 MLB season will bring.