FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Baseball is on the clock. The traditionally timeless sport implemented a pitch clock in major league spring training for…
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Baseball is on the clock.
The traditionally timeless sport implemented a pitch clock in major league spring training for the first time on Saturday in an attempt to hurry up both pitchers and hitters and keep the modern fan from tuning out the increasingly lengthy games.
Sixteen games across Florida and Arizona were scheduled to be played under the new rules, which were being phased in without threat of penalty for the first few days or more. There were no notable incidents in the afternoon, when three of the six games approached or surpassed 3 hours.
“I hope it gets the tempo up,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said after the St. Louis Cardinals beat Miami 11-1 in 3 hours, 15 minutes. “It sounds like at the minor league level they get used to it, and that’s the way you go.”
Baseball has long billed itself as a timeless sport, but as average game times creeped over 3 hours that has become less a badge of honor and more a reason for some young or short attention span fans to turn to other forms of entertainment.
Since taking over as commissioner, Rob Manfred has made speeding up games one of his primary goals. Last year, the average length of a nine-inning game fell to 3 hours — five minutes shorter than the previous season, but still 36 minutes longer than a typical game in 1976.
After pushing for an agreement with the players last season, baseball management decided on its own to experiment with pitch clocks during spring training this year. They have the right to implement them for the regular season but would prefer to reach an agreement with the union.
Los Angeles Dodgers veteran Rich Hill threw seven pitches in the first inning and retired the Chicago White Sox in order.
“I didn’t notice the pitch clock,” he said.
