For the first time since 1996, baseball will tweak a few things for the 2007 season, according to the MLB official website. None of them are major, but they will make you look smart if you're at a game and some Steve Lyons-type behind you claims to know what's going on down on the field but really isn't up to speed.
Such as:
= An automatic strike will be assessed each time a batter violates the rule requiring they keep one foot in the batter's box throughout his at-bat, except for certain game-play conditions, during which he is still not allowed to leave the dirt area surrounding the plate.
= A player may no longer step into a dugout to catch a foul ball. He still will be allowed to reach into a dugout.
= With no runners on, a pitcher will be required to pitch within 12 seconds, the timing starting when the pitcher is in possession of the ball and the batter is in the batter’s box, alert to the pitcher. It used to be 20 seconds.
= A major league position player who scuffs or defaces a baseball would be ejected and receive an automatic 10-game suspension. Previously, the penalty was to call the pitch a ball and warn the player. For pitchers, umpires have the discretion to issue only a warning if they determine the pitcher’s actions weren’t intended to alter the characteristics of a pitch.
= No more tie games. Before this year, when an official game was called due to weather and the score was tied, the statistics counted and a new game was replayed from the start. Under the change, when a game is tied in the bottom of the fifth inning or later and is called because of weather, it will be suspended and resumed before the next scheduled game between the teams at the same ballpark. If no more games remain between the teams at the same ballpark, it will be resumed when the teams meet at the visitor’s ballpark. If it is the final scheduled meeting between the teams, it will be replayed from the start if it is needed to determine a postseason berth.

= A batter running to first base also will be allowed to exit the 3-foot lane in foul territory “for the sole purpose of touching first base.'
= A batter will lose the ability to run to first on a dropped third strike if he leaves the dirt circle around home plate unless he does so while trying to reach first base. Previously, a player could run to first until he reached the dugout or his defensive position.
= A batter who hits an apparent game-ending home run with less than two outs would be allowed to circle the bases if a runner ahead of him doesn’t continue to home plate, thinking the game is over. If there are two outs when the play begins, however, the runner who abandons trying for home plate would be the third out and the home run would not count.
= A pitcher can wear a multicolored glove if the umpire determines it isn’t distracting.
= A pitcher in the stretch position instead of a windup with no runners on base no longer will have to come to a complete stop.
= For official scorers: The guidewords for deciding whether to credit a batter with a sacrifice bunt have changed from him being possibly retired on a "perfect play" to "ordinary effort" by the defense. And fans weary of hearing "defensive indifference" on stolen-base attempts will be heartened to learn that the scorer must now base that call on all game circumstances, not merely on whether someone covered the base or the catcher got off a throw.
And this may be the most significant:
= The rulebook now includes the disclaimer that references "to 'he,' 'him' or 'his' shall be deemed to be a reference to 'she,' 'her' or 'hers'" where applicable.
Your wife/girlfriend/mom is sure to point out that as an advancement long overdue.