MLB has wanted to make games faster for a while now.
In recent years, they felt games were taking too long and that was driving some fans away.
It’s true to some extent: younger generations prefer fast-paced sports.
So, the league tried an experiment: introducing a pitch clock that would limit the time between pitches.
On many occasions, pitchers took forever to get ready for their next offering; and hitters could also lose a lot of time re-arranging their gloves, walking away from the batter’s box to give themselves more time to focus, and more.
Now, there is a set limit of time for these actions.
The results have been unbelievable.
Now that we completed one third of the 2023 regular season, scientist and author Ian Bremmer posted an interesting chart on Twitter highlighting how long games have usually been historically.
The effect of the pitch clock has brought average game time closer to the 2:30 mark.
Last year, it was well over three hours.
the effect of mlb’s pitch clock & other game changes, graphed: pic.twitter.com/yjFz4Z1Umd
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) June 2, 2023
In the graph, you can see how the average game time is now back to the levels it had in the eighties.
In the league’s offices, they believe that the shorter and faster games are, the more fans they will have in front of the TVs and attending games at the venue.
More people in front of the TV equals more advertising opportunities; and more people in the stadiums equals more chances to sell beer, food, memorabilia, and other things.
The league has found the new arrangement desirable and profitable.
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