Three thoughts on the pitch clock

[BrendanPlutschak]

So there are 2 things that I really dislike about the pitch clock.

Number 1, and easily the biggest problem that I have with it, is that I do not like that I'm going to most likely spend more total time in my drive to the stadium and home from the stadium, then I'm going to spend at the actual stadium. Living on the Eastern Shore, driving a little over an hour each way, I actually want to spend 3 hours in the stadium. Now on the flip side, I don't want to spend 4 and not get home until 1 AM, but I want to spend more then 2 hours there also. 

Number 2, I don't want the game to feel "rushed". And part of that is just getting used to it which will eventually happen,  but even after getting used to it, I still feel like 15 seconds just is quite an extremely fast number for a pitcher to catch the ball, get on the rubber, choose which pitch he wants to throw (especially at the end of a game in a crucial situation), and throw the ball.

I'm not opposed to speeding the game up and preventing the 4 hour baseball games. I just think they could have done a 30 second pitch clock which most likely would have prevented the 4 hour games, while also preventing the two biggest concerns that I have with it above.

[Tony-OH]

Personally, overall, I like it and feel it just needs a little tweaking. The 15 seconds feels a little rushed and watching that clock get to 1 is a bit nerve wracking from a fan stand point in my opinion. Of course I'm a Ravens fan so I feel that on just about every snap as well.

Maybe having 20 seconds as the pitch clock no matter what is a little better. And as I said before n a previous post, "I do think they should have two manager called "clock resets" per game. That way if the clock is about to expire and the pitcher loses his concentration for a second, a manager has a chance to call it before it runs out and the pitcher gets charged with ball or balk."

[jamalshw]

1 hour ago, RVAOsFan said:

Someone else posted in this thread about how great this would be for young families.  I read that and immediately thought, this person does not have a young family.  I am going to miss half the game every night for my kids bedtime routine haha. 

Agreed. It's great for young families when those young families to go the games (which for most families is a few times a year at most), but it impacts the other way on TV.

[jamalshw]

15 minutes ago, BrendanPlutschak said:

So there are 2 things that I really dislike about the pitch clock.

Number 1, and easily the biggest problem that I have with it, is that I do not like that I'm going to most likely spend more total time in my drive to the stadium and home from the stadium, then I'm going to spend at the actual stadium. Living on the Eastern Shore, driving a little over an hour each way, I actually want to spend 3 hours in the stadium. Now on the flip side, I don't want to spend 4 and not get home until 1 AM, but I want to spend more then 2 hours there also. 

Number 2, I don't want the game to feel "rushed". And part of that is just getting used to it which will eventually happen,  but even after getting used to it, I still feel like 15 seconds just is quite an extremely fast number for a pitcher to catch the ball, get on the rubber, choose which pitch he wants to throw (especially at the end of a game in a crucial situation), and throw the ball.

I'm not opposed to speeding the game up and preventing the 4 hour baseball games. I just think they could have done a 30 second pitch clock which most likely would have prevented the 4 hour games, while also preventing the two biggest concerns that I have with it above.

I'm much the same here. I will have to adjust how I approach going to games. I'll have to get there earlier to enjoy what the stadium has to offer pre-game. I wonder if teams adjust to this and open the park earlier to allow more time for fans to do this (or perhaps not and I'm one of very few that would adjust in this way). 

[rm5678]

1 minute ago, jamalshw said:

I'm much the same here. I will have to adjust how I approach going to games. I'll have to get there earlier to enjoy what the stadium has to offer pre-game. I wonder if teams adjust to this and open the park earlier to allow more time for fans to do this (or perhaps not and I'm one of very few that would adjust in this way). 

I haven't heard anything about the O's opening the stadium more than an hour before game time, which was what they did for the past 2 years. They absolutely need to go back to opening 2 hours before, like they did pre-Covid. There's no excuse any more to only let fans in 60 minutes before the game starts.

[rm5678]

55 minutes ago, orioles119 said:

The ghost-runner needs to go too.  It was warranted during the pandemic season, but now?  It needs to go.

I agree completely. Especially now with the pitch clock, the ghost-runner is completely unnecessary.

[NCRaven]

2 hours ago, Just Regular said:

The clock will help the product, but it does change baseball's special place as "the sport without a clock".

That’s not what the saying means.  It’s a reference to 9 innings; both teams get 27 outs; you can’t build a lead and run the clock like football or basketball and others.  There’s still no game clock.

[interloper]

How did you all feel about MASN displaying the clock by the score? I think it needs some tweaking (we don't need to see it between batters or when someone is running in from the bullpen). I didn't hate it, but it did pull my attention way from the center of the screen, which isn't great. The folks at Camden Chat reallllllly hate it lol. I don't mind having it, but in typical MASN fashion it's kind of messy how they implemented it. 

[Ripken]

Giving the manager two timeouts is an interesting thought.  Also, if it invariably ends up at 25/20 seconds instead of 20/15, that's fine, but I've watched several games and I'm not seeing any problems with 20/15.  

Beyond that, I still haven't heard one argument against this that carries any real weight.  Is being at the stadium 25 minutes less really an issue?  That's one fewer $9 Miller Lite while watching hitters adjust their batting gloves 200 times.  These stadiums are in cities.  If you want to hang more before and/or after then do it.  

The comments from Manny and Soto are laughable.  Manny could jog from the on deck circle to second base, hug his teammate who just doubled, jog back to home plate, take two practice swings and still have time left on the 30 second clock.  In roughly the same time, NFL teams can sub multiple players in and out, have 11 guys huddle up to coordinate a complex play, allow everyone to get to their positions all over the field, and possibly audible/move personnel around after that.   So how much time does Soto need to contemplate a 3-1 pitch?  Sit on the fastball, Juan!!

All major sports leagues are concerned that younger people aren't interested in their product.  It's a big part of rule changes favoring offense, embracing the once toxic gambling environment, turning stadiums into entertainment complexes, and so forth.  Far too many people consider baseball boring.  Changes like this are very needed if it's going to thrive.

[Moose Milligan]

1 hour ago, interloper said:

How did you all feel about MASN displaying the clock by the score? I think it needs some tweaking (we don't need to see it between batters or when someone is running in from the bullpen). I didn't hate it, but it did pull my attention way from the center of the screen, which isn't great. The folks at Camden Chat reallllllly hate it lol. I don't mind having it, but in typical MASN fashion it's kind of messy how they implemented it. 

I thought it was okay and didn't really mind it.  It pulled my attention away from the pitcher/catcher a bit to begin with but after awhile I was able to focus on the players and not the clock.  

I'm not sure what else they should do in order to display the clock.  I guess they could have it superimposed behind the batter, kind of like they have those frames with for the fake advertisements that rotate in and out but aren't really there in person and only visible on your TV.  That way it's part of what you're looking at and your eyes don't have to travel too far from the clock to the players.

 

21 minutes ago, Ripken said:

 

All major sports leagues are concerned that younger people aren't interested in their product.  It's a big part of rule changes favoring offense, embracing the once toxic gambling environment, turning stadiums into entertainment complexes, and so forth.  Far too many people consider baseball boring.  Changes like this are very needed if it's going to thrive.

Agreed.  

[Spakman]

On 3/6/2023 at 6:53 PM, HakunaSakata said:

Implementing the pitch clock is just as much about making the game the way it used to be as it is trying to appeal to a younger generation.  Sure it will take some getting used to, but the baseball purist argument really doesn't hold any water based on the average length of games over time. 

 

• The average length of a MLB game in 1940 was about 2 hours and 4 minutes. 
• The average length of a MLB game in 1980 was about 2 hours and 33 minutes. 
• The average length of a MLB game in 2022 was about 3 hours and 2 minutes. 

I also wonder how much advertising plays into this. I don’t know the commercial lengths in each decade or where they started having commercials but I’m assuming it’s a factor.

[accinfo]

13 hours ago, rm5678 said:

I haven't heard anything about the O's opening the stadium more than an hour before game time, which was what they did for the past 2 years. They absolutely need to go back to opening 2 hours before, like they did pre-Covid. There's no excuse any more to only let fans in 60 minutes before the game starts.

I understand the main reason they haven't opened earlier is because they couldn't get enough employees to work the stadium since covid.  Like many of the service industry there has been a shortage of labor.  

[deward]

1 hour ago, Spakman said:

I also wonder how much advertising plays into this. I don’t know the commercial lengths in each decade or where they started having commercials but I’m assuming it’s a factor.

There's probably multiple factors. Per Baseball Reference, teams used an average of 2.5 pitchers per game in 1980, vs 4.3 per game in 2022. Additionally, the average number of pitches thrown per game for a team had gone up from 136 per game in 1988 to 147 per game in 2009 (per BBRef again; they don't appear to have that info for any other years). So, to get to the same 2:30 game length, you have to squeeze in an average of 4 additional pitching changes and 8-10% more pitches, in addition to any increase in commercial breaks.

[Tony-OH]

22 hours ago, rm5678 said:

I agree completely. Especially now with the pitch clock, the ghost-runner is completely unnecessary.

The ghost was more for protecting bullpens than it was for shortening game time wise.

[Going Underground]

9 hours ago, accinfo said:

I understand the main reason they haven't opened earlier is because they couldn't get enough employees to work the stadium since covid.  Like many of the service industry there has been a shortage of labor.  

The Orioles last year were the only team in MLB to not open the gates on Friday and Saturday at least 1 1/2  hours before  first pitch.A few teams did an hour before M-TH. The Guardians did an hour before Sunday- Thursday. Some teams do two hours all the time and some on weekends.