How the pitch clock saved baseball

By: Caroline Conner
Walter M. Williams High School
Burlington, NC

My favorite memories are playing catch with my dad in the backyard, watching my beloved Chicago Cubs win the World Series and cheering for my Tar Heels on their road to the College World Series. The common denominator? Baseball.

The “national pastime,” baseball is a huge part of American culture and history. However, some, particularly the younger generation, find it about as exciting as their history class. Claiming that the game “takes too long” or is “boring,” many have concluded that baseball moves too slowly and that the 3+ hours it takes to get through all nine innings isn’t worth it. Lucky for them, Major League Baseball (MLB) came up with a solution. The new pitch clock, which was established in 2023, made for shorter games, less theatrics from players, and more action.

In an attempt to attract a larger audience, specifically the younger generation, the pitch clock has dramatically shortened the average MLB game length. According to ESPN, the average game time in 2022 was 3:04 (hours: minutes). After the implementation of the pitch clock in 2023, the average game length for that season was 2:40. According to Forbes Magazine, that 24-minute decrease in average game length led to a 9.6% increase in attendance from 2022 to 2023.

The pitch clock has also resulted in fewer theatrics and lengthy routines by players, which speeds the game up substantially. Batters are cutting down their time spent doing things like adjusting batting gloves, calling time to take a lap around the batter’s box and fastening elbow guards. They have done so due to the resulting penalty for taking too much time to get set up in box. The rule is if the batter isn’t set up and ready to hit before the pitch clock reaches 8 seconds, they are given a strike. Likewise, pitchers have had to shorten their pre-pitch routines to accommodate the new pitch clock. They must start their motion towards the plate within 15 seconds of when the ball was returned to him by the catcher. This time extends to 20 seconds with runners on base, or 30 seconds in between batters. A ball is added to their count if they fail to do this. These rules and penalties have allowed the game to move quicker, and therefore more action to occur, which has helped beat the narrative that the game is “boring,” increasing both interest and attendance.

The pitch clock and its new rules have also created more action by mandating that there be two players on each side of second base at all times, preventing infield shifting. When the infield can’t shift to cover the spots a batter is likely to hit the ball to, more hits will get through the infield. This creates more runners on base, resulting in more action and potentially more scoring. This is proven by the difference in batting average before and after the new rules on shifting were implemented. In 2022, the league batting average was .243, which was the worst in 54 years according to the LA Times. After the pitch clock and shifting rules were established, the league-wide batting average immediately rose 5 points to .248 according to the Society for American Baseball Research.

“These approval numbers for the rule changes seemingly verify that MLB made the right call.” said Seton Hall Professor Charles Grantham, who conducted a study that involved collecting polling data regarding the new pitch clock rules.

With MLB attendance and interest increasing as a result of the pitch clock, more kids will get to experience the thrill of baseball the way I did. Listening to Cubs games on the radio or watching the College World Series are some of my most treasured memories, and I’m excited that the pitch clock will allow more children to experience that same love for the game.