MLB Pitch Clock Is A Big Hit

[Ky Fried Redleg]

All of that stuff happened at a time when games ran even quicker than they do with the pitch clock. The stuff you're recalling didn't chew up as much time as you remember it taking. For instance, Fidrych worked fast. Sometimes he'd throw in something wacky, but most of the time he was a bulldog. The game moved at a faster pace back then. They didn't need a pitch clock because pitchers were drilled in working fast and keeping their fielders alert. What perhaps made those occasional interludes so memorable is that they were notable exceptions to the rule. And if probably all feels like it took longer in the rearview because everything else was happening at a brisk pace.

The pitching clock is just restoring normal order. There's still plenty of time to tug at your shirt, stare a hitter down or whisper to the baseball.

I'm sure there is some "sentimental recollection" occurring on my part. Things always seem so much better in "the good old days." For example, umpires like Vargo, Harvey and Stello seemed head and shoulders above Angel Hernandez, CB Bucknor, and Manny Gonzalez. Maybe I have sentimental recollection of the umps, as well. Maybe they actually sucked, too. Regardless, there's lots about baseball from the past that I miss. Of course, I also miss The Sweet, Badfinger, and King Crimson. As my friend, Leatherpants, once told me, in a scathing rebuke, "You're old. Go watch Matlock. "Quite possibly, I'm hopelessly stuck in the '70's, the best time of my life. I think LeatherP was right.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Pitch clock is doing it for me. The batter stepping out multiple times and pitchers stepping off the rubber and then doing a whole big long reset I just don’t miss.

Followed closely by staring down hitters and throwing over to first 5-7 times just wasn’t what I go to baseball games to see.

You're older than me. You're supposed to help.



“It’s the mathematical potential for a single game to last forever, in a suspended world where no clock rules the day, that aligns baseball as much with the dead as the living.”

--- Bill Vaughn

[cumberlandreds]

The pitch clock was a necessary evil that had to be done. Games were just taking too long. Games were starting to be routine to go 3 1/2 or 4 hours. That's crazy and you are going to lose fans. I have liked very much how the pitch clock has gone. Games are a much better pace without killing the essence of the game. The clock is here to stay and I believe it is a good thing for the game.

[Chip R]

The pitch clock was a necessary evil that had to be done. Games were just taking too long. Games were starting to be routine to go 3 1/2 or 4 hours. That's crazy and you are going to lose fans. I have liked very much how the pitch clock has gone. Games are a much better pace without killing the essence of the game. The clock is here to stay and I believe it is a good thing for the game.

I agree. I would say that I would be in favor of eliminating it if the umpires would do their jobs and make sure things move along like they do now. There is anecdotal evidence that the pitch clock is making pitchers pitch faster and giving them less time to recover thus leading to injury. I'd like to see a study on that because I don't know if there actually has been an increase in injuries pre-clock. I'm skeptical but I have an open mind.

[cumberlandreds]

I agree. I would say that I would be in favor of eliminating it if the umpires would do their jobs and make sure things move along like they do now. There is anecdotal evidence that the pitch clock is making pitchers pitch faster and giving them less time to recover thus leading to injury. I'd like to see a study on that because I don't know if there actually has been an increase in injuries pre-clock. I'm skeptical but I have an open mind.

Yea I don't agree that it has had an effect on pitchers injuries. If anything it's the pitcher going all out and not pacing themselves. Just too much stress early in a game on the arm to withstand it over a full season. Just my opinion as I haven't stayed in a Holiday Inn Express lately.

[M2]

Pitch clock is doing it for me. The batter stepping out multiple times and pitchers stepping off the rubber and then doing a whole big long reset I just don’t miss.

Followed closely by staring down hitters and throwing over to first 5-7 times just wasn’t what I go to baseball games to see.

It's more like the game Boomers and Xers grew up watching. When the pitch clock got implemented in 2023 I found myself getting sucked into random baseball games like I did when I was young. My brain had an "I remember this" reaction.

FWIW, I like a good stare down, but 5-7 seconds is enough to do the trick. Stare directly at someone for that long and see if it doesn't make the both of you uncomfortable.