MLB’s rule change initiatives headed into 2023 have largely had their intended effects, improving the run scoring environment while cutting down on game times. That being said, those changes haven’t stopped players from hoping that the rules surrounding the pitch clock, which limits pitchers to 15 seconds between pitches with the bases empty and 20 seconds with runners on, would be relaxed somewhat during the postseason given the heightened importance given to each play during a win-or-go-home series.
It seems as though those players will be disappointed, however, as Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci reports that MLB has decided not to adjust the pitch clock during the postseason this year. Per Verducci, the league informed the Competition Committee yesterday that they would not propose any amendments to the rules for postseason play this year. It’s easy to see why the league would be satisfied with the changes and not look to mix things up, given the average game time has dropped from 3:03 in 2022 to just 2:39 this year. While Verducci notes that game times have crept up throughout the year as hitters have increasingly made use of their timeout during plate appearances, August’s average game time of 2:41 is still more than twenty minutes shorter than last year’s average.
While there won’t be changes to the pitch clock this postseason, that doesn’t mean the league isn’t contemplating changes at all. Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper recently noted that, starting on September 5, the pitch clock at the Triple-A level will be tweaked significantly. Rather than the previous 14 seconds with the bases empty and 19 seconds with runners on at the level (one second fewer than in the majors in both situations), Triple-A games down the stretch will instead operate with a single, 17-second clock for all situations. Cooper notes that the change is made possible thanks to the level’s widespread use of PitchCom, which allows pitchers and catchers to communicate without the use of signs.
Other, smaller changes at Triple-A are planned as well with an eye toward preventing pitchers and catchers from gaming the pitch clock, such as lowering the number of mound visits. While the changes at the Triple-A level are by no means guaranteed to reach the majors, it’s nonetheless worth noting that the league is still experiment with the specifics of the pitch clock in hopes of further optimizing the rule.
In addition to the incoming pace-of-play related changes, the Triple-A level is also poised to see a change to its ABS system for automating the strike zone. While previously, ABS has used percentages of a hitter’s height to determine the top and bottom limits of the strike zone, that has created issues due to varying body types between players that a human strike zone would normally account for. As such, Cooper relays that going forward the ABS system will be altered to use visual tracking when setting the strike zone to create a custom strike zone for each individual player. While the new strike zone is expected to more closely mimic a human strike zone, the top of the zone will still be lower than the major league strike zone, an intentional feature implemented in hopes of lowering the number of strikeouts on fastballs at the top of the zone.
The change toward an individualized strike zone more akin to the ones created by human umpires seems to be a step in the right direction as people from all sides of the game look toward the possibility of an automated strike zone of some variety reaching the major leagues in the coming years. An automated strike zone wouldn’t necessarily remove the entire human element of calling the strike zone; while half of all Triple-A games are called with a fully automated strike zone, the other half utilize human umpires while offering both pitchers and hitters a challenge system that utilizes the automated strike zone to determine the outcome of the challenge.
2:39 still isn’t gonna be good enough for younger views.
Then let them find something else to watch.
If games are 13% shorter in length, then ticket prices should be 13% cheaper in price.
Nomar has repeatedly said it wouldn’t have affected him and if you watch his routine he is in the box looking at the pitcher well before 8 seconds remaining.
youtu.be/tC34w6FU_rY
True. Little Timmy has a short attention span from all the Tic Tok videos he watches. Little Timmy doesn’t care about the pace of play so let’s give him what really matters, batflips.
Little Timmy watches soccer, whose games last just as long and tend to be lower scoring. The difference is they play soccer as a youth today. Fewer play baseball.
I thought it was little Jimmy?
Soccer is for sissys
Soccer games last 90~96 mins. Running clock and any stoppages of action are the additional 5 to 6 mins of actual game clock time and 15 mins for halftime. Lower scoring but only ~110 mins of game time.
He doesn’t watch soccer. No data to support that whatsoever. Soccer is rising in popularity but the gap is massive.
I am in my 60s. It is not just little Timmy or Jimm who wants shorter game times. I love the shorter game times both at the ballpark and at home. Can deal without all the commercial time waiting for the action to start again. Can deal without a 15 to 20 minute half inning with all the wasted time with multiple needless throws to 1st base., pitchers wandering around the mound between pitches making the batter wait and then the batter wandering around fixing the gloves and all of the body armor between the pitches making the pitcher wait. The waiting affects only the fan waiting for a freaking pitch to be thrown. I love the increased pace and makes me stay focused on the game more. Many of my age group love the change too.
@Robertowannabe1, by “gloves and body armor”, isn’t that what NHL players use too? But with a hockey stick permanently equipped instead of a bat?
At least hockey players don’t stop play to adjust their gloves and body armor while on the ice.
We need to find Little Timmy and cuff his ears. He causes so much trouble.
“2:39 still isn’t going to be good enough”…Television in America is brutally bad and for me, baseball is by far the best thing on tv. MLB will survive without a few of the “short attention span” crowd, although I do agree with your point.
They just gotta show subway surfers gameplay on the bottom half of the screen.
Same length as a Marvel movie
NBA is 2.5hrs, NHL is 2.5-3hrs, football is 3hrs+
I highly doubt a 2hr and 39min MLB game duration is the problem.
Why dont we start with why tf we need 37 streaming services to watch these games?
If you have a remote programmed for 15 and 30 sec jumps forward you can watch a football game in about half an hour without accidentally missing any of the action.
While it hasn’t necessarily been a problem, one thing that irks me is the batter needing to engage with 8+ seconds on the clock. It’s like a pitch clock within the pitch clock which doesn’t make much sense…just have 1 time for both sides. If you’re in the box you better to be ready to hit
I don’t quite understand the pitch-clock-within-a-pitch-clock rule either. Seems unnecessary, and it’s more frequently the reason for pitch clock violations as the season progresses.
The 8 seconds rule is to prevent quick pitches. Both sides must be ready.
As much as we all hated it, it had been integrated almost seamlessly.
The pitching clock has been a big success by any measure. It’s been really good, not perfect, but we really don’t need to see batters adjusting their batting gloves 6-7 times per at bat. I hated it at first, but have gradually warmed up to slightly shorter games.
Nomar Garciaparra would’ve hated the pitch clock.
So would Mike Hargrove.
I saw its impact when I attended three minor league games last year and I was sold on it almost immediately. I initially spent some time looking at the clock and watching how it influenced the batter-pitcher-umpire relationship with it in action, but in short order I paid little attention to the clock and enjoyed the improved pace.
I enjoy the pitch clock as a countdown to the pitch. I love it.
We didn’t all hate it. I’ve wanted it for years.
Why do we need shorter games? Is there something so important that we need to do with the half hour saved that we couldn’t do in the other 23 1/2? I liked going to games bm: before Manfred. I could spend my afternoon or evening sitting in the stands enjoying the game. Enjoying wondering what the pitcher would throw to the batter, who would be guessing what the next pitch will be. Not caring that Mike Hargrove needed five minutes between pitches to adjust his batting gloves. Now, it’s me who’s on the clock. I have to leave early, find a parking spot, hustle to the stadium and get to my seat before the fourth inning. Funny how nobody complains about football, which lasts 3-3 1/2 hours. That’s because Manfred isn’t the commissioner.
@Kenneth Powers, me too. I’ve been vocally advocating for it for several years. I can’t remember what year it was now but a couple years back I was watching the cardinals clinch a playoff spot and one of the last pitches of the game took the pitcher 1:14 to throw. Nothing was happening, just standing there waiting so after the play I went back and watched how long it took. There’s zero fun about that long of watching two guys stare at each other
Football only plays 16 games. Baseball used to be a 2 hour game. The pitch clock is much more in the spirit of the golden era. If Babe Ruth had adjusted his batting gloves between each pitch, he would have been beaned for showboating.
NFL is a 17 game schedule now
MLB wants kids to be fans. I can’t take my young child to a 7 pm start, if its going to last to 11 pm and they have to be at school the next morning. I’m more likely to take them if it ends at 9:30 pm.
Game ends at 9:30… an hour to get out of the stadium and to the car. Another hour to fight traffic. Still not home until midnight.
Many of us hate the extended stoppages for football too. Long commercial breaks for every stoppage. Bad enough at home, worse,sitting in the stands. Loved the rule changes in hockey that eliminated the constant stoppages for a “frozen” puck. And 2 line passes. The speed of the game picked up dramatically. All of the old timer hockey fans still hate those rule changes too.
Babe would be wondering what the hell a batting glove was.
If the game lasted 40 mins to an hour longer you would be getting home 12:40-1:00 am…….
If the pitcher has 15 seconds to throw a pitch and has to wait until the batter is set in the box, if the batter only steps in and set with 2-3 seconds left, not fair to the pitcher to rush his pitch. That is why they give the batter better than half of the 15-20 second pitch to get in and set. Letting the time longer gives an unfair advantage to the hitter.
Not a fan of the clock but makes sense to maintain the same rules for the whole season.
Pitch clock isn’t so bad when watching at home. Hate it when I’m at the ballpark though. Basically miss an inning if you go to the toilet or concessions.
Pee faster.
Wish I could pee on the people waiting in front of me in line.
If I wasn’t a die hard baseball fan, I wouldn’t even watch it anymore. Manfred so worried about trying to pry people just to watch and making it harder for true fans to watch isn’t right. The beauty of baseball is going down with the rest of this country.
braves: manfred is making all these unnecessary changes because he wants to be remembered as the man who revolutionized bb. He’ll be remembered alright, the same way Judge Landis is still remembered.
I love what manfred is doing. The game was changing organically. He made adjustments, which is what baseball is all about.
Boooooooo
They don’t need to alter anything about the pitch clock. It’s been a great addition. They should implement a strike challenge for the playoffs. It’s worked for the minor leagues. I know they won’t do that. Just don’t have Manfred Ball during the playoffs.
I hope the challenge comes next year.
I hope they start the automated strike zone by implementing it on days Angel Hernandez is behind the plate.
The pitch clock rules should be tweaked to prevent a playoff game from ending on a violation.
I just want the stupid ghost runner gone. It’s amateur.
So sick of the pitch clock and watching it be a problem every night now. Games ending because of a stupid clock violation or umpires not calling stuff one batter and then being to particular with the next batter.
Just get rid of the clock there is no place in baseball for it.
How many games have ended controversially on a pitch clock situation
Exactly. There’s only .4 violations per game.
Personally, I am loving the results of the pitch clock. So much unnecessary dead space removed.
Wow, 20 minutes, doesn’t really feel like it, hitters using the timeouts more frequently in the 2nd half feels like old times.
Batters used to step out multiple times during at bats. They are limited to one now,
I think we can all agree that if we’re commenting on this site, that means we are diehard baseball fans.
As a “younger” fan in my mid-20s, I will say my friends that casually watch baseball occasionally have commented on how the game feels better/more exciting now. That’s not only because of the pitch clock but also increased steals, balls in play, etc.
To me, that’s a good thing. All sports, including baseball, change with the times and that’s natural but i know it can be hard for lifelong fans. In the end, I’m down with bringing in more people to this wonderful sport!!
I think a lot of people just like to whine. This is more in line with what baseball used to be. I love the new rules. Not a huge fan of the ghost runner but as long as they don’t use it in the playoffs it will be ok.
Completely agree. I love the action and excitement. The last few years felt like home run derbies. A solo shot every thirty minutes with a bunch of strikeouts in between isn’t my favorite version of baseball.
As salaries went up, more players became prima donnas, so they felt they needed to add style to each at bat. Slow walk ups as music was played, adjusting the gloves, extra warm up swings, walking out of the box on each pitch. Its not all on the player, as MLB wanted to promote the players, especially the higher paid ones. Whichever way it goes, it will be a joint effort, between players and mgt.
I have seen Carlos Pena on MLB Network telling that he was taught to take his time.
The automated balls and strike system is boring. The challenge system is actually exciting to watch. I like letting the players challenge from the box or mound. It creates an extra wrinkle of drama waiting to see who was wrong.
Absolutely. Human error is part of the game. Challenges are too.
Clown show
The pitch clock has changed the games viewing experience for me. A slick play to end an inning goes straight into a commercial, bang bang play at a base and instead of seeing a slow mo replay i get a split screen ad. Critical hr happens and i might not even get a replay. I can understand that for the regular season games but the playoffs are coming. I take vacation days for those games, i want to watch those games and see the spectacular plays broken down for us by the analysts. The game has taken a turn for the worse. Lots of strike outs and nothing happening and i am getting more commercial time than game time for substantial portions of a game. They dont have to add long for the playoff clock, maybe 5-10 seconds and we could get a few more replays of the critical moments.
Imagine there are roughly 300 pitches per game. So for every second added, that’s 5 minutes of game. 5 seconds makes the game 25 minutes longer. I guess I wouldn’t mind that for the playoffs. 10 seconds is too much.
I used to hate watching Yankees games just because they were so long. They had a nine inning playoff game against the Indians go 4 hours. That’s unwatchable IMO.
Strike zone challenge should be brought in for next year. It works and does not slow the game too much.
Yeah. I think most fans don’t mind that delay to get the call right.
The umpire union, not the players union.
I would still be interested to know if the pitch clock has anything to do with an increase in arm injuries this year?
There has not Been no increase in injuries this year. Injuries are on par to be consistent with last year. Studies have shown no evidence of it effecting injuries. Main issue through years has been velocity increases.