MLB Executives Express Widespread Support For Pitch Clocks At GM Meetings

Image credit: (Photo by Carl. D Walsh/Portland Press Herald)

CARLSBAD, Calif.—Of all the experimental rules changes put in place in the minor leagues this year, pitch clocks continue to gain the most momentum toward becoming a part of Major League Baseball.

Executives across the game expressed widespread support for pitch clocks at the general manager’s meetings this week at the La Costa Resort And Spa. Of the 19 executives Baseball America surveyed at the meetings, 15 expressed favorable opinions of the pitch clock and four said they wanted to see more data. None expressed opposition.

RELATED: Here’s what 19 MLB executives had to say about pitch clocks

“Very positive,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “I think obviously there is a need to speed the game up. It’s certainly something that we want to respond to from our fans reaction, and it’s certainly one of many different things that can be done to help do that. I think that that’s an automatic.”

The average time of a nine-inning game in 2021 was three hours and 10 minutes, according to Baseball-Reference, the longest in major league history.

Prior to the season, MLB implemented a 15-second pitch timer in the Low-A West as part of experimental rules changes across the minor leagues. The first six weeks in the league were played without a pitch timer and the rest of the season was played with the timer. The average time of a nine-inning game dropped from 3:02 without the timer to 2:41 with the timer, a reduction of 21 minutes.

The implementation of the pitch timer also corresponded with an increase in runs, home runs, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage and a decrease in walks and strikeouts in the league.

MLB also continued using the pitch clock in the Arizona Fall League, where most executives got their first in-person look at it. A pitch clock previously appeared in the AFL in 2019.

“We were just talking about one rule I really like is, because I was just in Arizona, I’m a big advocate of the clock, the timer,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “I guess about everybody is … The game moves faster. Pitcher gets the ball, the batter’s in the box and here you go. Just a lot more action on a consistent basis.”

“Feedback was really good,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “I was just in the Fall League last week and wasn’t sure what to expect. Saw it in Rancho (Cucamonga) and wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But there is a pace to things that I appreciated. You forget about the clock but you’re just appreciating the pace of it. I enjoyed watching in my limited time with that and our player feedback has been positive.”

Players have generally resisted the idea of a pitch clock, often citing the need for thought and recovery time in between pitches. Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and Rangers general manager Chris Young see both sides of the issue as longtime major league pitchers who are now executives, but both ultimately came out in favor of the clock.

“The time clock, the pitching clock, has always been something I’ve been interested in because it’s something that we’ve slowly been implementing over time in baseball,” Dipoto said, “I think that has a chance to really be a positive in both time of game and the action that we’re seeing on the field, which is what we’re trying to get to as an industry—a more interesting game.

“I can tell you what I would have felt like in the ‘90s. Today I’d need a little more time. But I generally liked to work quick and that makes the game more interesting.”

Said Young, who also worked for the league office: “I don’t think I was a big offender of taking a long time in between pitches. I think that our game has the best athletes in the world who make great adjustments on a daily basis and will continue to do so.”

No decision has been made about when, or if, a pitch clock will be implemented in MLB. At the same time, support for one is clearly building in both the league office and executive suites.

“Personally I’m very supportive of it,” Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “I understand why veteran players at the major league level may have challenges with it, but I think it’s something that as an industry is important for us and we should continue to push it.”