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Pitch clock. A pitch clock (also known as a pitch timer) [1] is used in various baseball leagues to limit the amount of time a pitcher uses before he throws the ball to the hitter and/or limit the amount of time the hitter uses before he is prepared to hit. Various baseball leagues and tournaments around the world have started using a pitch ...
- Overview
- How it works
- Does it work?
- Other rule changes
- Reactions to the changes
The pitch clock, an attempt to speed up Major League Baseball (MLB) games, was implemented for the first time in the 2023 season. It was one of several rule changes that sought to address the reality that baseball, once heralded as America’s “national pastime,” was losing fans because three-hour-plus games failed to keep the attention of the 21st-c...
In 2022, after several years of testing the rule in the minor leagues, MLB’s Competition Committee announced that pitchers and batters would have a set amount of time during which a pitch must be thrown. Previously, batters could engage in elaborate routines before presenting themselves in the batter’s box (Juan Soto’s “Soto Shuffle” being one of the most famous). Additionally, pitchers could throw to a base with a runner an unlimited number of times before ever throwing to the batter. These behaviors, considered by some purists to be integral to the character of the sport, invariably added more time but little action to the game.
According to MLB, these are the major rules governing the pitch clock:
•Between batters, a 30-second timer is in effect.
•Between pitches, a 15-second timer is in use when the bases are empty; the timer is 20 seconds with runners on base.
•The pitcher must begin his motion to pitch before the timer expires; if he fails to do so, the batter gets an automatic ball.
•The batter must be in the box and ready for a pitch by the 8-second mark on the timer. Failure to do so means the batter gets an automatic strike.
The average length of a nine-inning baseball game has been more than three hours for most of the last decade:
•2014: 3 hours, 2 minutes
•2015: 2 hours, 56 minutes
•2016: 3 hours, 42 seconds
•2017: 3 hours, 5 minutes, 11 seconds
•2018: 3 hours, 44 seconds
MLB instituted two other rule changes intended to make baseball more exciting for fans. The first was to enlarge the bases—from 15 inches to 18 inches on each side. The change not only gives the would-be base-stealer a bigger target but also means he has to run just a tiny bit less. The other rule change was to eliminate what was called “the shift,” which allowed infielders to change position based on a hitter’s tendencies. Under the new rules, all four infielders are required to start each play either in the infield dirt or infield grass, with two on either side of second base. Both rules were intended to boost the offense in baseball, and the results—at least in 2023—were clear.
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•Runs per game rose to 9.2 from 8.6 in 2022.
•There were 1.8 stolen base attempts in 2023, up from 1.4 in 2022.
•An average of 1.4 bases were stolen per game in 2023, up from 1.0 in 2022.
While the changes (and others made previously, including putting a runner on second base when a game goes to extra innings and no longer making the pitcher throw the four pitches associated with an intentional walk) have succeeded in speeding up the game, not everyone agrees that this is a good thing. In an October 2023 essay in The New York Times entitled “Baseball Has Lost Its Poetry,” Jesse Nathan wrote that baseball’s slower pace was part of what made it stand apart from other sports:
With the new rules and particularly the new pitch clock, the game has become one less place in our subdivided lives in which we get to imagine—to feel, to daydream—something existing outside of time.
Legendary Washington Post baseball writer Thomas Boswell begged to differ, writing early in the season:
From 1955 to 1969, the average time of a Major League Baseball game, including extra innings, was a little over 2½ hours. That was good enough for Hank Aaron and Mickey Mantle. And me.
But whether fans love or loathe the new rules, players should get the last word on the impact of the pitch clock and other 2023 changes. New York Mets’ outfielder Mark Canha put it to the The New York Times this way after playing a 2 hour 9 minute game in April:
You’re going to look back at 2023 and say the game changed in a big way.
- Tracy Grant
Sep 13, 2022 · 1. It shortens game length. Technically, the pitch clock has been in use in the minors for a few years, but 2021 was the first season in which it was seriously enforced. As a result, average game ...
20-Second Pitch Clock. – Between pitches, with runners on base. 30-Second Pitch Clock. – After each play. 2 Minute 15 Second Pitch Clock. – Between every half-inning. – During pitching changes. Keep reading to learn more about each scenario, as well as the rules around MLB’s pitch timer.
Feb 7, 2023 · Here are the five keys to being an effective FTC. 1. Know the rules. The pitch timer is 15 seconds with the bases empty, 20 seconds with runners on base. The timer starts the moment the pitcher receives the ball and stops the moment he goes into his motion. That latter part can be tricky.
- Anthony Castrovince
Oct 31, 2024 · The pitch clock is a countdown timer used in baseball games to enforce specific timing rules. It helps regulate the pace of the game, ensuring that pitchers and batters maintain a steady rhythm. The mechanics of a pitch clock involve setting a specific amount of time for the pitcher to deliver the pitch, usually around 20 seconds. This timer ...
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Pitch Timer (2023 rule change) Definition. In September 2022, Major League Baseball announced three rule changes that were approved by the league’s Competition Committee. . The rules were adopted after extensive testing at the Minor League level over a several-year period and with feedback from MLB player and umpire representati
