The 2023 season is upon us.  The pitch clock is officially in.  And let’s be real…the pitch clock needs to go.      

No, not because “traditionalists” are resistant to change, as is often trumpeted by millennials and Gen Z’ers whose worldview is far too often skewed by bandwidth and pixels. 

And, no, it’s not because a three hour sporting event is too long and pushes fans away. 

Rather, it’s because the pitch clock is having the unintended (or intended?) effect of changing the very spirit of the game that has been the root of its generational appeal and beauty.

As author Edward Abbey penned in 1990 regarding his take of America’s great pastime: 

“Baseball is a slow, sluggish game, with frequent and trivial interruptions, offering the spectator many opportunities to reflect at leisure upon the situation on the field: This is what a fan loves most about the game.”

For someone who spent most of their time voicing controversial takes on environmental issues, Abbey’s observation of baseball is a notable and astute precis. Unlike the three other major North American professional sports leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL) Major League Baseball has been the lone game not bound by time or duration.  Clock management has never been a thing.  No one has ever reflected back on the outcome of a baseball game wishing, “If only there had been a more time.” 

Yet, those running baseball are suddenly fixated on their excel spreadsheets showing the average MLB fan is now in their mid to late 50’s, thereby sending up warning flares of potential viewership decline among younger generations.

The belief is that in a day and age where younger viewers – who live and breathe in a hyper-fast tech world dominated by information just a click away – do not have the attention span for the leisurely nature of baseball and, therefore, the game must not only be sped up, but reduced significantly in run time.

Entertainment now moves at a much faster pace than ever before, and major league baseball has determined that their F-14 product cannot compete against fifth-generation competition, and all the aging Maverick’s in the world won’t save the day.   

Repose vs. youthful fan hastiness.  While three-hour contests are fine in the NFL and NHL, baseball no longer can stomach it.  As a result, the 2023 season will now see a 15-second pitch clock that extends to 20 seconds with runners on base.  Any pitcher who does not start his windup before the clock hits zero is charged with a ball. Any batter who is not in the box ready to hit with eight seconds remaining (signaled by the hitter looking at the pitcher) is penalized with a strike.  

What played out over spring training is exactly what MLB hoped would occur.  The lag time in-between pitches was essentially abolished, and games were routinely finished in two and a half hours or less.  All of which reportedly thrilled the suits at MLB headquarters.

Clinking champagne glasses could be heard from New York to Seattle as Rob Manfred and his staff toasted what they envisioned as changes to the game that would magically draw young professionals away from Coachella and, instead, to major league ballparks and TV broadcasts. 

However, while Manfred and Co. were patting themselves on their backs for mission accomplished, actual games were fraught with pitchers and hitters visibly rushed, and game sequences and outcomes decided not by the actual performance, but by the semantics of time management. 

Balls and strikes being called with never a pitch even thrown.  Plays on the field nullified. Games ending due to time violations.

Perhaps even worse, however, the implementation of the pitch clock has removed the mental chess match that often occurs between pitcher and hitter.  Gone is “the game within the game” that has made baseball so unique throughout it’s history.

No longer is there enough time for pitchers and hitters to engage in mind games such as shaking off a long string of catcher signals, or stepping out of the batter’s box at the last moment, in order to try and “ice” the other player and gain the mental edge. 

Rather, it’s pitch ball, receive ball back, pitch ball again.  Wash, rinse, repeat.   

Yes, this tango can contribute to the increase of overall game length. But do fans *actually* care?  Does anyone even remember that Game 5 of the 1995 American League Divisional Series lasted over four hours? 

Or is all that one remembers is the battle between Edgar Martinez and Jack McDowell, and “The Double” by Martinez that propelled the Mariners past the New York Yankees and into the American League Championship Series?

I mean, could one fathom a pitch clock in play during Kirk Gibson’s Roy Hobbs-esque performance against Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series?

As the recent World Baseball Classic showed, it’s all about the performance and excitement on the field that draws fans of all ages.  Not how quickly the game can be completed.  

Fans who want constant movement and non-stop action will gravitate towards the NBA. Fans drawn to violence will find their way to the NFL and NHL.  However, unlike those sports, baseball is, and always has been, a different breed of entertainment. 

As Abbey theorized over 30 years ago, baseball is a game you watch, in part, for the slower pace.  The sport you can attend while simultaneously working on one’s tan while enjoying an ice cold beer. The game you have running in the background while cooking, working in the yard, or cleaning the house. 

Of course, the irony (and humor) in all of this is the fact that MLB is essentially fighting against its own natural progress.  A major contributing factor to the game’s increased run time is due in large part to the advent of technology-driven advanced metrics that has shaped strategy and performance.   

Here, advanced data has shown, for example, that taking a few extra seconds between each pitch has been proven to be advantageous for both pitcher and hitter performance.  Additionally, strategies such as seeing more pitches, running up pitch counts, and no longer pitching to contact are just some of the tactics that have become central components to today’s game strategy, all of which have increased game length.

All of this is not to say there isn’t a place for the pitch clock in today’s game.  There is. But rather than use it as a tool that creates reasonable rules to prevent unreasonable delay, it is being deployed as a vehicle to speed up and condense professional baseball, essentially turning it into a live version of “MLB The Show 23.”

Instead of reinventing the game into something it’s never been, perhaps those responsible for running baseball should implement changes that embrace and celebrate the game’s long historic allure of being an escape from the hustle and stress of every day life?

And maybe, just maybe, Manfred and his band of merry workers should throw some vinyl on the turntable, pour themselves a glass or red, and realize that analog is, sometimes, simply better than digital.