MLB won’t extend the pitch clock for the posteason
Sep 1, 2023, 6:00 PM
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - AUGUST 10: Jeremy Pena #3 of the Houston Astros waits to bat next to the pitch clock against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 10, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Major League Baseball is keeping the pitch clock the same for the postseason as it was for the regular season, brushing aside complaints from some players.
Following an MLB executive council meeting this week, the commissioner’s office informed the competition committee there will be no change, a decision first reported by Sports Illustrated. The competition committee adopted the clock ahead of the 2023 season along with restrictions on defensive shifts and larger bases.
The clock is set at 15 seconds with no runners on base and 20 seconds when there are runners.
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The average time of a nine-inning game has dropped from 3 hours, 10 minutes in 2021 to 3:04 last year, when the PitchCom electronic signaling device was introduced, and to 2:39 so far this season. That is on track to be the fastest since 1984.
The average has crept up from 2:37 in April to 2:38 in May, 2:39 in June and 2:41 in both July and August.
Pitch clock violations have averaged 0.48 per game, dropping from 0.71 in April to 0.57 in May, 0.41 in June, 0.38 in July and 0.29 in August.
Nine-inning postseason games last year averaged 3:23, including 3:24 for the World Series.
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