Change Isn’t Always a Bad Thing
MLB’s pitch clock will be a blessing
Not every change in life is a bad thing.
Major League Baseball has said over the last few years that there will be a pitch clock added to help create pace and move the games along. There are other rule changes added for the 2023 MLB season, but I wanted to focus on the pitch clock.
The pitcher has 15 seconds to throw a pitch when no one is on base and 20 seconds with runners on base. The batter must be “engaged” with the pitcher with 8 seconds remaining. The batter can request one time out if they desired.
I have been to minor league games and never truly noticed, maybe because I wasn’t watching on TV, but I do know the games were quicker.
This past weekend was the opening of Spring Training, and I saw a lot of complaints about the pitch clock, so I wanted to check it out.
The first game I was able to watch was on Saturday. As I sat down to watch the first inning, I knew I would love it. The game finally had a rhythm and less dead time between pitches and the action on the field that the league has had to weed out for years.
The next game I was able to sit down and watch was this evening. The game started at 635 PM eastern standard time and ended at 858 PM eastern standard time. I knew immediately that I definitely could get used to this!
Over the weekend, I have seen more negative reactions to the pitch clock than positive ones, and one thing I have seen a lot is “true fans or diehard fans don’t care how long a game lasts and they all don’t like it.”
I think it is safe to call myself a diehard who lives and breathes the game of baseball.
I for one, am thankful that have cut down the dead time. The pitcher should dictate the pace of play, not the batter. And this rule change helps accomplish that.
There is no reason why a batter has to adjust their equipment after every pitch or walk around the mound after every pitch or have several minutes pass before another pitch is thrown.
The pitch clock will change the game of baseball in a few ways:
- Players will now have an extra 20–40 minutes of rest that they wouldn’t have gotten because the games end earlier. Maybe that leads to less load management and the players being able to stay on the field.
2. East coast fans won’t dread when their favorite team goes on a west coast trip and they either have to lose sleep and be a walking zombie for a week to 10 days or miss the later innings because they need to get up early in the morning.
3. Younger fans will now be able to stay awake and watch a full game instead of having to go to bed early.
4. Parents might take their children to more games at night because they will get home in a reasonable.
I think people are upset with the fact that there is a clock now and think it puts a timer on the game and not the pace.
I do think that if players did these changes themselves and sped up the pace of play without a clock, fans would not have noticed.
MLB finally deciding to have a pitch clock and help the pace of play is definitely something that makes me go mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…….
It will help make the sport I love truly beautiful.
How do you feel about the changes?
Thank you to Mrs. K for the prompt.
I love you all!
