MLB considering big change to pitch clock

Major League Baseball’s competition committee is considering a reduction of the pitch clock with runners on base, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. In 2023, the clock was set at 20 seconds with runners on but the new proposal would see that reduced to 18 seconds next year. The 15-second clock with bases empty is not under consideration for a change. The committee is also considering a reduction in the number of mound visits each team is allowed per game, from five to four.

2023 was the first year with a pitch clock at the MLB level and it had the desired effect of reducing game times and speeding up the pace of play. Per a report from Ronald Blum of the Associated Press at the end of the regular season, the average game time was two hours and 40 minutes in the most recent season, a 24-minute decrease from the season before. However, Passan’s report today indicates that gradually crept up as the season went along and players adjusted to the new rules. The average game length was 2:37 in April but inched up to 2:44 by September. It seems the league hopes to stop that trend by reducing one of the two clocks.

This is likely to get pushback from some players, many of whom wanted adjustments to the clock for the postseason out of concern for increased injury risk. However, it was reported in September that no such adjustments would be made. Passan reports that players have similar concerns about this new development, though they may not have much sway to stop it.

The players are outnumbered on the competition committee, as there are six members representing teams, four representing players and one umpire. This structure was agreed upon in the most recent collective bargaining agreement. That gives the league the power to implement rules even if players object, though doing so runs the risk of further souring relations that led to a lockout not too long ago. The players would reportedly be more open to the reduction if it also came with an increase to the bases-empty clock, but the league is apparently uninterested in that.

The committee can implement a change with 45 days’ notice. Since Spring Training starts in February, they would probably want to make a final decision before the calendar flips over to 2024. With the baseball world generally slowing down for the holidays in late December, it’s possible there will be some resolution on this matter in the next month or so.