By: Nathaniel Ascher
Baseball is one of the most unique sports in the world. Their season is 162 games long, each game is divided into two halves(hitting and pitching), and there is no time limit/clock. Certainly, all of these things make baseball great, but most baseball games take over three hours, longer than any other popular American sport, such as football, hockey, or basketball. In addition, baseball by far has the most downtime compared to these sports, and this causes fans to lose interest as there is never constant action in baseball. MLB should implement a 20-second pitch clock in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement(CBA) in order to significantly shorten the game and the amount of downtime in it, ultimately increasing the number of fans and the revenue made by the MLB.
Adding a 20-second pitch clock into the MLB seems harder than it actually is. The pitch clock would start when the ball hits the pitcher’s glove after the previous pitch was thrown, and stop when it’s out of the pitcher’s hand (Murphy 2/6). Nowadays, pitcher’s waste a lot of time between those points doing various things such as kicking the dirt or staring down the catcher. Also, umpires would be responsible for the execution of the clock, with the home plate umpire keeping the batter in the box and the third base umpire handling the pitch clock itself (Murphy 2/6). When talking about the implications of implementing a pitch clock, Tom Verducci states, “Warnings would be issued instead of penalties for the first month or two and graduated tiers to the amount of time on the bases-empty clock-such as 20 seconds, then 18, then 15-would be implemented to allow players to adjust” (2/3). Just to add, the penalties would include a ball if a pitcher goes over the clock and a strike if the batter leaves the box too often. This is a very logical idea as pitchers and hitters can slowly ease into the new rule. As you can tell, the implementation of a 20-second pitch clock would be simple and smooth.
MLB would significantly shorten their games by implementing a 20-second pitch clock. Since the 2014 season, the average MLB game has gone past three hours in five of those six seasons (Berg 2/5). For example in 2018, Twin’s games averaged 3 hours and 10 minutes (Rand 1/2). This is a major problem, as kids and even grown ups don’t have the patience to sit through a 3+ hour game. Furthermore, in the Big 12 division in college baseball, there was a pitch clock added and games were shortened by an average 13 minutes (Davis 1/2). This was a good step forward for college baseball, and the MLB should try and get themselves into all the action. When talking about the addition of a pitch clock into the MLB, Dale Murphy says, “I wrote a blog last summer arguing for a 15-second pitch clock, which I believe could potentially shave as much as 45 minutes off a game” (2/6). MLB games that take 3+ hours take a toll on the players, umpires, fans, coaches, and the league as a whole, and without a pitch clock, who knows who will be suffering next.
A 20-second pitch clock would decrease the amount of downtime in baseball as well as the length of the game itself. Between the 2008 and 2018 MLB seasons, the average amount of downtime between pitches increased from 21.7-24.1 seconds (Verducci 1/3). This upward trend shows that if MLB doesn’t implement a pitch clock, the time between pitches would only increase. Furthermore, when talking about downtime in the MLB, Verducci also writes, “Add to that an increase of 4.6 pitches per game and that produces an additional 13 minutes, 38 seconds of nothingness to the average big league game over the last 10 years” (1/3). Fans come to games to see action, not players standing around on the field doing nothing. In fact, in the 2018 World Series, there was an average of 4 minutes and 26 seconds between balls put in play (Verducci 2/3). All of these stats are very problematic for the MLB, and the best way to decrease the amount of downtime in every game is to add a 20-second pitch clock.
As a result of the length of every game and the amount of downtime in it, there are many worrying problems that have arisen in baseball. In 2018, MLB attendance dropped below 70 million people and declined for a third straight year (Sheinin 2/3). A good sign to tell if you’re improving your sport is attendance, and right now, MLB is struggling with that. Dave Sheinin also writes that “SportsBusiness Journal reported in 2016 that the average age of MLB fans was 57, the highest of any major U.S. sport by far and an increase of four years over 2006 data” (2/3). MLB is going in the wrong direction with the attendance as well as this, and without any major changes in order to modernize the game, these trends will never get better. Not to be a pessimist, but in 2018, strikeouts exceeded hits for the first time ever and the league batting average dropped to its lowest level in the past 30 years (Blum 1/2). Evidently, if MLB doesn’t do something to improve their sport soon like implement a pitch clock, all the problems mentioned above will only get worse.
Based on all of the effects listed above, you can tell that the addition of a pitch clock would only help MLB’s problems. Kids who like baseball can’t watch games that go until 10 P.M. every night. Thus, a pitch clock would make games shorter and draw more younger fans. In addition, Dale Murphy writes that a pitch clock would “also put a premium on staying in shape, which may actually prevent injury” (2/6). A pitch clock would also draw more casual fans who don’t have the patience to sit through 3+ hour games, ultimately causing an increase in attendance and revenue which would benefit players and the league as a whole (Berg 5/5). We know that fans love to see offense, and a pitch clock would decrease strikeouts and increase hits since it minimally favors hitters rather than pitchers. Overall, a pitch clock rids MLB of most of their major problems and helps them grow their game.
As with anything in life, there are always a few reasons why not to do something. First off, players don’t what to be told what to do. Admittedly, this is a fair point, but as explained above, pitchers and hitters would have a lot of time to adjust to the pitch clock (Verducci 2/3). In addition, baseball purists fear it changes the structure of the game (Murphy 2/6). This is completely false as a pitch clock just gets everyone moving along and doesn’t change the number of outs or innings at all. A few players also feel like it will increase the risk of injury (Axisa & Snyder 1/2), but as explained above, it will force pitchers to emphasize staying in shape, ultimately increasing the number of innings they pitch and the money they make. Overall, all of the arguments against a pitch clock aren’t valid because MLB has found a way to limit these problems if a pitch clock is added.
Therefore, MLB needs to implement a pitch clock in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. It is pretty simple to add and doesn’t change the structure of the game at all. A 20-second pitch clock would dramatically decrease the length of MLB games, inevitably increasing attendance and the revenue made by the MLB. A pitch clock also decreases the amount of downtime in each game, drawing more casual fans and decreasing the age of the average MLB fan. On the players side of things, it benefits them as well since it makes them more athletic and less susceptible to injuries. Finally, a 20-second pitch clock would help MLB grow and make more money by increasing their attendance and the interest of every fan.
Manfred, you’re on the clock.
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