Faster-paced MLB games being embraced by fans and players, no longer ‘too much of a time commitment’
Associated PressCHICAGO — On a cloudy, breezy day in September, Tate Conrad and his son, Miles, settled into their seats behind the home dugout at Wrigley Field. While many longtime fans are indifferent when it comes to their time at a ballpark — “I’m out here to enjoy the game and if it takes a little longer it takes a little longer,” said Ken Jahns, 64, a Cubs fan who lives in St. Louis — there are some indications baseball is getting what it was looking for when it made a series of changes designed, in part, to speed up its games. “I mean just looking at kind of the rule changes the past couple years, I think pace of play probably has affected things positively for fans,” Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan said. “People aren’t just like sitting here for a long time watching a game where the innings seem like they take forever,” Miles Conrad said. “Things just seem a lot more exciting.” The introduction of the PitchCom electronic pitch-calling device helped shave a couple minutes off the average nine-inning game time in 2022, but a couple rule changes that were installed before last season have made a major difference.
History of this topic
MLB’s made a lot of rule changes over the past few years. The most noticeable? A pitch clock
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