Major League Baseball is intent on shortening games next season.
By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Major League Baseball is intent on shortening games next season.
The average time of a nine-inning game was a record 3 hours, 5 minutes this season, up from 2:56 in 2015. The postseason average was 3:29.
Many owners and general managers want to cut down trips to the mound by catchers, whether the reason is changing signs, talking about pitch selection or giving a pitcher a breather during long plate appearances.
Toronto Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro says « it’s not just listening to our current fans, it’s thinking about our future fans and the landscape we’re competing on. »
MLB proposed three changes last offseason that the players’ union didn’t accept, and management can start them next year without player approval: restricting catchers to one trip to the mound per pitcher each inning; employing a 20-second pitch clock; and raising the bottom of the strike zone from just beneath the kneecap to its pre-1996 level – at the top of the kneecap.
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred prefers reaching an agreement with the union.
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