Marlins' Jeff Conine reflects on the impact of recent rule changes in MLB: "Lacks a lot of the aggressiveness that we had"
Ahead of the 2023 season, Major League Baseball brought in new rules to speed up the game, inviting mixed reactions from fans and analysts alike. Recently hired Miami Marlins front office executive Jeff Conine discussed the recent rule changes, claiming the modern game lacked the aggressiveness of the past.
Conine, nicknamed Mr. Marlin, tasted multiple World Series success with the then-Florida Marlins. He played for six teams in his 17 year-long MLB career, earning two All-Star selections.
He recently appeared on the Foul Territory podcast and gave his two cents on the much-debated rule change topic. The host asked him to compare the modern MLB game to the way it was played in the past. Conine had this to say:
"Lacks a lot of the aggressiveness that we had when we played," Conine said. "You can't take out the second baseman anymore, trying to break up the double play, you can't touch the catcher when you reach the home plate, bigger bases now."
"I do love the time clock," Conine added. "Say as a defender when you are out there and you just want your pitcher to get on the mound and love the time clock. I think that it's been a big addition to this game, the fans have responded that they love it as well, and attendance is up this year. So there have been changes that I really like, I just wished that some of the aggressiveness shouldn't have been taken away from the game."
Conine was content with new changes like the pitch clock which has been praised by the fans as well. However, he felt that some changes have taken the sting out of the game.
Jeff Conine reveals why Marlins can't pay bigger sums to star players
Conine was vocal about the fact that Marlins, who don't generate as much revenue as Northern teams do, cannot pay up big for star players.
"We don't sell out every night like other Northern teams do. We don't have huge TV contracts like other teams," Conine said on Foul Territory. "So our revenue is lower than most teams. So as you know with skyrocketing salaries, we can't afford to go out there and pay the $300M+ contract to these superstar players."
The Marlins will hope to advance further next season after the NL Wild Card series loss to the Philadelphia Phillies cut short their postseason.