Revamping America’s Pastime: The Effect of Rule Changes in Baseball

Bill James - Former Senior Baseball Operations Advisor, Boston Red Sox
Morgan Sword - Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations, Major League Baseball (MLB)
Raúl Ibañez - Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations, Major League Baseball (MLB)
Kevin Negandhi (moderator) - Anchor for SportsCenter, Host for ESPN College Football on ABC, ESPN

America's Pastime has undergone significant changes over the past several years as it tries to capture younger audiences and develop them into passionate baseball fans like ones from past generations. Chief among these are rule changes meant to increase the pace, excitement, and competitiveness of the game. This panel convenes Bill James and executives from the MLB league office to discuss the rationale behind these rule changes, its effect on team composition, and the tangible impact that the panelists feel it will have on the game moving forward.