News from the worlds of baseball and softball, in brief.
BY MATTHEW DORON ’23
FIVE UAHS PLAYERS COMMIT TO PLAY BALL
As the Class of 2023 fights senioritis, five seniors look toward a new playing field: college sports, specifically baseball and softball. Paige Parker will play at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, Lilja Reynolds will play at University of Mount Union, and Audrey Szollosi will play at Harvard University. For baseball, Garrett Smith is headed to Denison University while Michael Glaser will go to pitch for Wright State University. Glaser, who committed in the fall, said that he’s excited to join his future teammates in Dayton.
“I met the team this fall for my official visit and they all seem on the same wavelength as me on mostly everything, so it should be fun,” he said. Glaser said committing early helped him enjoy senior year.
“It definitely helped a lot, and Wright State was test optional so I never took the ACT or SAT, and just knowing that I had a plan already set from then and not having to worry about applying to colleges and all that felt really nice,” Glaser said.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL THROWS CHANGEUPS
Major League Baseball, also known as MLB, is the professional baseball organization of the United States, although there is one team in Canada. In early February, MLB announced multiple controversial rule changes for the 2023 season, which began this week. When these changes were announced, there was widespread coverage. Last week, MLB sent a memo, the fifth of its time, to teams, referred to as “clubs,” clarifying the implementation of these rule changes, according to ESPN.com and the official MLB website. Among these changes are the addition of a pitch timer, a 30-second timer between batters to reduce the average length of the game, restrictions on the shifting of players’ positions on the field, and increasing the size of first, second and third base, making each base 18 inches squared compared to the traditional 15 inches squared in an attempt to encourage stealing bases and reducing injuries while sliding. Opening Day for the 2023 season was on March 30, with each team vying for the coveted Commissioner’s Trophy given to the World Series champion.