The Trea Turner Rule is finally getting amended. Not eliminated altogether, but amended in a way that should at least somewhat appease the star shortstop and Nationals manager Davey Martinez after both were burned by it multiple times in the past.
Major League Baseball announced a series of rule changes for the 2024 season Thursday afternoon, and the most notable one for anyone with current or recent ties to the Nats surely was the alteration to the first base running lane.
The runner’s lane will now be widened to include the dirt area between the foul line and the infield grass, MLB announced. In other words, a batter-runner will now be permitted to run in fair territory as long as he stays on the dirt and doesn’t venture onto the infield grass.
Because dirt cutouts aren’t universal across baseball, there will be some leeway for dimensions. The distance between the foul line and the infield grass will be between 18 and 24 inches in every MLB park, with some limited grace periods granted due to difficulty in modifying fields (such as ballparks that use artificial turf).
“Widening the lane allows batters to take a more direct path to first base while retaining protection from interference,” the league said in announcing the change.
