Major League Baseball has 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.
Former Boston Red Sox baseball executive Theo Epstein, back center left, Major League Baseball Executive Vice President Morgan Sword, back center, and Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, back center right, speak during a news conference at Major League Baseball's headquarters on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022.
Players supported the third major initiative: larger bases that are expected to lessen injuries and lead to more stolen bases because of a decreased distance of 4 1/2 inches.“Number one, fans want games with better pace,” he said during a news conference. “Two, fans want more action, more balls in play. And three, fans want to see more of the athleticism of our great players."
The pitch clock will be set at 15 seconds with no runners on base and 20 seconds with runners — up from the 14/19 tested at Triple-A this season and 14/18 at lower minor league levels. The clock, which some players suggested be altered for late and close situations, has helped reduce the average time of a nine-inning game in the minor leagues from 3 hours, 4 minutes in 2021 to 2:38 this season. The average time of a nine-inning game in the major leagues this year is 3:07, up from 2:46 in 1989 and 2:30 in the mid-1950s.
“I think fans will cherish the moments absent the extreme defensive shifts when games are decided not by whether their team’s infield is positioned by the perfect algorithm, but by whether their team’s second baseman can range to make an athletic dive playing with everything on the line," Epstein said.
In addition, each team will be allowed a sixth mound visit in the ninth inning next year, if it has used five during the first eight innings.
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