In 2023, the MLB made a significant rule change by implementing a pitch clock. The aim was to speed up the pace of the play by eliminating the time between pitches. The MLB is set to change the rule again, reducing the pitch clock with runners on base from 20 seconds to 18 in 2024.
The rule change is to reverse the late season trend, which saw an average of game time increasing by seven minutes. There is another proposal to shave the clock by cutting down mound visits to just four a game.
MLB Looks to Shave Pitch Clock Again in 2024
The MLB will be looking to reduce the pitch clock once again to 18 seconds from 20 seconds with runners on base in 2024.
In 2023, the regular season game times averaged 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Based on MLB’s fan research, the ideal game length is around 2 hours and 30 minutes. By reducing the pitch clock again, it’ll shave around 5 minutes per game which will put games closer to the mark of 2 and a half hours.
The introduction of the pitch clock already reduced nine-inning games by 24 minutes, dropping it down from 3 hours and 4 minutes per game.
However, the pitch clock with nobody on will remain the same at 15 seconds.
Why the MLB Is Shortening the Ptich Clock Again?
There are multiple reasons why the MLB is shortening the clock. The bottom line is that the league wants games to be faster.
As the season went on, players were able to adapt to the pitch clock. The average game time in April was 2 hours and 36 minutes but peaked in September with 2 hours and 44 minutes.
There were 1,094 pitch-clock violations in 2023 with 14% coming from runners on base. On average the analytics showed that pitchers began their deliveries with 6.5 seconds remaining on a 15-second clock and 7.3 seconds left on a 20-second clock.
The MLB will look to tighten the pace further without significant impact on the game by reducing time on the pitch clock once again.
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