Report: MLB Proposes Shorter Inning Breaks
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BananaStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Major League Baseball is seeking to shorten the length of games.
The MLB has submitted a proposal that would require pitchers to, “finish their warm-up pitches and be ready to make their first pitch of an inning 30 seconds before the end of all between-inning commercial breaks,” according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark. Hitters would also be required to be ready sooner as well.
Complaints have increased over the past decade over the length of games, as game times have consistently been over three hours. In the same period of time, ratings have seen a consistent decline.
“The average time of a Major League Baseball game this year was 12 minutes longer than just four years ago,” Stark said. “So they are looking for ways to pick up the pace.”
Before any changes will be made, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Player’s Association will explore other measures to speed up games. Pitch clocks will be installed at Double-A and Triple-A parks as a trial study, but will not be used in Major League parks.
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