Major League Baseball adopted its first pitch clock, limits on defensive shifts and larger bases for next season in an effort to shorten games and increase offense in a tradition-bound sport, according to AP News.
The decision on the clock and shift restrictions by the sport’s 11-man competition committee was made Friday over the unanimous opposition of the panel’s players, who approved the larger bases. The changes had long been pushed by baseball commissioner Rob Manfred in an effort to combat the increase in dead time over four decades and suffocation of offense in the age of analytics.
“Throughout the extensive testing of recent years, minor league personnel and a wide range of fans – from the most loyal to casual observers – have recognized the collective impact of these changes in making the game even better and more enjoyable,” Manfred said in a statement.
A catcher will be required to be in the catcher’s box with nine seconds left on the clock and a hitter in the batter’s box and focused on the pitcher with eight seconds remaining. Penalties for violations will be a ball called against a pitcher and a strike called against a batter.
A batter can ask an umpire for time once per plate appearance, and after that it would be granted only at the umpire’s discretion if the request is made while in the batter’s box.
The clock has helped reduce the average time of a nine-inning game in the minor leagues from 3hr 4min in 2021 to 2hr 38min this season. The average time of a nine-inning game in the major leagues this year is 3hr 6min; it was 2hr 46min in 1989, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
However, MLB makes money between innings, and fans can expect to see commercial breaks jump from 2:15 to 2:40 for nationally televised games, then up to 3:10 for the postseason.
The skeptics — including suspicious players — suggest MLB will find a way to tack on a few more minutes of ad time in that space. Let’s hope the practice stays true to its stated mission.
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