Major League Baseball intends to emphasize enforcement of the balk rule in the upcoming season, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

The extra emphasis will coincide with a bunch of changes beginning in the 2023 season, including the implementation of a pitch clock, making the ghost runner permanent and banning defensive shifts.

“We have slipped a little bit centrally with calling the rulebook illegal pitches and balks,” Morgan Sword, MLB’s executive vice president of operations, said at a media briefing.

Umpires penalizing pitchers for balks have long been argued by players, managers and fans due to the rule having so much room for interpretation. It’s intended to disallow pitchers from deceiving runners on base and umpires could enforce the rule for more than a dozen reasons. Runners advance one base if a pitcher is called for a balk.

Among the numerous reasons, pitchers can be called for a balk for unnecessarily delaying the game, starting a pitching motion without completing the pitch or faking a throw to first base.

The emphasis on balks will be something to keep an eye on with pitchers being timed by the new pitch clock, which forces pitchers to throw within 15 seconds of receiving the ball with the bases empty and 20 seconds with a runner on base.

All of the new rule changes will be on display when teams begin spring training games in less than two weeks. Teams hope to be acclimated to the new rules when the regular season begins on March 30. Getting familiar with the new rules won’t be easy for teams, especially for clubs sending players to the World Baseball Classic — the Mets are sending 10 players and Yankees are sending four — where the new MLB rules won’t be used.

()