MLB average game time drops to 2:36, the lowest since 1984
The pitch clock is seen in the outfield during a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Friday, May 5, 2023. Credit: AP/Aaron Doster
NEW YORK — The average time of a nine-inning major league baseball game dropped to 2 hours, 36 minutes in the second year year of the pitch clock, the lowest since 1984.
The average was down 4 minutes from 2023 and 28 minutes from 2022. It had not been this low since 1984's 2:35.
MLB shortened the pitch clock with runners on base by two seconds to 18 ahead of the 2024 season while keeping it at 15 seconds without runners on base.
The average game time passed 3 hours for the first time in 2016. It reached a record 3:10 in 2021 before the introduction of the PitchCom electronic pitch-calling device helped bring it down to 3:04 in 2022.
Over the objections of the players’ association, MLB instituted a pitch clock for 2023 set at 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 seconds with runners on base.
This year's monthly averages were steady: 2:36 for April and June, 2:34 for May and 2:37 for July, August and September.
Times gradually got longer in 2023: 2:37 in April, 2:38 in May, 2:39 in June, 2:41 in July and August and 2:44 in September.
The pitch clock is visible as Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Dean Kremer winds up to deliver during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, April 24, 2023, in Baltimore, Md. Credit: AP/Julio Cortez
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