MLB pitch clock will help bring the good ol’ days back to baseball, not make us long for them

There’s a humorous irony among the would-be baseball purists who complain that MLB’s new pitch clock will strip the sport of its essence and forever destroy how things were in the glory good ol’ days.

Of course, that irony is that the pitch clock will help make things pretty much the same as they were in those good ol’ days — you know, when the average time between balls in the game was shorter than most hits and than the average game didn’t compete with the running time of The Godfather Part II.

In other words, when baseball had reliable action at a somewhat brisk pace.

MORE: MLB’s Pitch Clock Rules, Explained

So, to the naysayers: whenever you fell in love with baseball — whether it was in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, or ’90s — this is the version of the sport that grabbed you, even if you don’t realize it. And this is the version that Pitch Clock will help restore, no doubt making it necessary as it is an essential ingredient in better, healthier gaming.

The unfortunate reality is that Major League Baseball is a long way from being like the good old days, to its detriment. Although the current players are more athletic and talented than at any time in the history of the sport, that hasn’t been reflected on the field as strongly as it should be.

As a product trying to expand its reach, MLB has suffered from a sluggish pace that says nothing for nearly two decades Hey, watch me and be happy!

The average MLB game has lasted three hours or longer every year since 2012, with an all-time high of 3 hours 11 minutes in 2021. Last season, the average game lasted 3 hours 6 minutes — 10 minutes longer than the average game 20 years ago ago and 26 minutes longer than the average game 40 years ago. But to hit the drum for the millionth time, the length of the game isn’t the problem—it’s the tempo. And surprisingly, those long games don’t happen because there’s too much action.

While it’s true that baseball has always had a deliberate pace, which is one of the perks for fans, in recent years the lethargy has often reached levels akin to someone coming down from an afternoon sugar rush. (By the way, I’ve developed a few things about it.)

The average time between balls in the game last season was almost four minutes. In 2021 the time had come more than four minutes. That seems almost impossible. But it’s a simple equation for boredom: slow-working pitchers + batters stepping out of the box + all strikeouts + all hill visits + all pitching changes + all replay challenges = lots of downtime. Enough cumulative downtime to equal an entire episode of your favorite sitcom.

I promise you dear naysayers, the downtime isn’t what drew you to the game. You can’t possibly believe that one of the best parts of baseball is when baseball doesn’t happen for long stretches. I’m all for letting big moments breathe, but there have been far too many moments that didn’t need a lot of air but were still hooked up to an oxygen tank.

I will grant you that the pitch clock is not perfect. It could use at least one major tweak, which my colleague Ryan Fagan nicely detailed. But it doesn’t have to be perfect to have a good effect. Faster games – again, more quickly not More quickly — will be better games, more entertaining games. And, importantly, they’ll be more appealing to new and casual fans who are watching out of curiosity and aren’t looking for a time commitment to Godfather II.

MORE: Why the Braves batsman was confused by the pitch clock violation that ended the game

Minor league games that used the pitch clock in the past season reduced game time by an average of 26 minutes. We can expect something similar at the MLB level, if the small sample of spring practice games is any indication. A look at Monday’s scoreboard tells the story. Only one game (Dodgers-Padres) broke the three-hour mark. Here’s a selection of other games, both high and low(ish) scoring:

Cardinals 12, Mets 7 (2 hours 59 minutes)

Rays 14, Orioles 2 (2 hours 51 minutes)

Red Sox 4, Twins 1 (2 hours 24 minutes)

Braves 7, Blue Jays 0 (2 hours 11 minutes)

Diamondbacks 3, Cubs 0 (2 hours 4 minutes)

Ahh, just like in the good old days.

But there should be benefits beyond a snappier game. In theory, leaving the field earlier gives players more time to rest and recover. That might not seem like much, but over an entire season, an extra 30 minutes of rest or sleep per day can add up and help players stay fresh later in the season. And not for nothing, but fans who put their kids to bed 30 minutes earlier, or who go to bed earlier themselves, or just do something else with their evenings, are likely to love their newfound free time.

An aesthetic element of the pitch clock that has bothered some fans was also its notoriety behind the plate or as a graphic element on the television screen. That is understandable; it’s a little irritating. But the good news is that it should be gone by the regular season. I would expect the countdown to simply be built into the score bug like the NFL game clock or NBA shot clock. Soon, most people won’t even notice. But she will Note games with more energy and momentum.

Make no mistake: the pitch clock is an absolute commodity. It won’t ruin the game. It won’t even damage it – it will only make it better.

If you really long for baseball the way it used to be, the Pitch Clock will grant you that wish.