While several new rules are set to be implemented into Major League Baseball in 2023, the most dramatic change will likely be the addition of a pitch clock. What might baseball games look like with a pitch clock in place? The 2022 postseason opener between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians provided a good preview.
Cleveland defeated Tampa 2-1 on Friday, opening up a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three American League Wild Card Series. The game was played in two hours and 17 minutes, a pace not seen in a long time, at least not in the postseason. The last time a playoff game was played so quickly, Bill Clinton was still President of the United States of America and the Y2K problem was a prominent concern.
Friday’s game between the Guardians and Rays was the fastest playoff game since October 6, 1999, when the Atlanta Braves defeated the Houston Astros in Game 2 of that year’s National League Division Series.
Time of game: 2:17
That’s the shortest postseason game since 1999 NLDS G2 — HOU at ATL, 2:13
starting lineups from that one ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/w0nWvjFjd2
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 7, 2022
Baseball fans were generally quite fond of the brisk pace of the game in Cleveland.
https://twitter.com/alyssakeiko/status/1578453942979112960
incredible https://t.co/iOs00svoPy
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) October 7, 2022
Yankees v Red Sox only would be in the third inning.
Terrific from Shane Bieber and Guardians. https://t.co/UirDX9MCLG
— Tom Reed (@treed1919) October 7, 2022
I truly feel that if every baseball game was like this, it would be a 10x a better experience for fans. https://t.co/yZy0syHsIu
— Mac Wiilson (@cinatyte) October 7, 2022
Already working ahead towards next season.#pitchclock https://t.co/iDIFjSvB8V
— John M. Bishop (@JohnBishop71) October 7, 2022
And the pitch clock isn’t coming till next year! https://t.co/vjQJhLsT1X
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) October 7, 2022
So, what happened in Friday’s game? For starters, only three runs were scored and those were scored briskly. The Guardians scored their two runs on a two-run home run while the Rays scored their one run on a solo shot. So, there was an absence of long rallies.
Friday’s game also featured only two pitching changes, with one of those coming between innings. And while it was low scoring, a lot of balls were put in play. Only 16 of the 54 outs recorded on Friday came by way of the strikeout. The four pitchers used on Friday also combined for only one walk. That greatly contributed to only 213 pitches being thrown. For comparison’s sake, the last postseason game played before Friday (Game 6 of the 2021 World Series) had 271 combined pitches.
Realistically speaking, we probably won’t see too many games like this one until the pitch clock is officially implemented. Even then, 2:17 will still probably be on the fast side of things. But Friday’s brisk clip was a welcome change.
[Sarah Langs on Twitter]
