With Major League Baseball instituting a pitch clock this season, games across the league have gotten much shorter, limiting the time fans have to purchase alcoholic beverages. In response, some teams have changed their policy to allow alcohol to be sold in later innings to compensate for the shorter games. But one MLB pitcher isn’t a fan of this rule for safety reasons.
During an appearance on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Matt Strahm expressed concern that later alcohol sales could leave to more drunk driving.
“The reason we stopped [selling alcohol in] the seventh before was to give our fans time to sober up and drive home safe, correct?” Strahm said according to ESPN. “So now with a faster-pace game — and me just being a man of common sense — if the game is going to finish quicker, would we not move the beer sales back to the sixth inning to give our fans time to sober up and drive home?
“Instead, we’re going to the eighth, and now you’re putting our fans and our family at risk driving home with people who have just drank beers 22 minutes ago.”
We’ll have to see what the MLB does in response to these concerns.
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