SEATTLE — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred will contemplate growing time on the pitch clock for the postseason however is reluctant to regulate an innovation the game considers an important success.

In the primary season of the clock, the typical time of a nine-inning sport is 2 hours, 38 minutes, on monitor to be the quickest since 1984. It is down from 3:04 final yr and three:09 in 2021, the final season earlier than PitchCom was launched.

“We’re going to continue to talk to the players,” Manfred instructed the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. “I think you ought to play the postseason the way you play the regular season. There’s exceptions. I’m open-minded on that topic.”

The clock is ready at 15 seconds with no runners on base and 20 seconds with runners. There are also restrictions on defensive shifts and limits on pitcher disengagements.

“I don’t believe there’s any player, nor do I believe there are too many folks that want to have a new rule dramatically affect a game in a pennant chase or in the playoffs,” union head Tony Clark instructed the BBWAA. “Players believe and we’ve been pretty consistent with this, that there are some adjustments that could be beneficial in the grand scheme of things so that we’re not having a conversation about a new rule and instead focused in on the game being played.”

MLB has a majority of the 11-member competitors committee, which incorporates 4 gamers.

“We are comfortable with the way the clock and the violations, particularly late in the game in high-leverage situations we’ve been watching, have been managed,” Manfred stated.

There have been 721 violations by July 4, of which 501 have been by pitchers, 208 by batters, and 12 by catchers. Philadelphia’s Craig Kimbrel leads at the moment with 11 violations, adopted by Toronto’s Chris Bassitt with 9 and San Diego’s Joe Musgrove with seven.

“In a big spot,” Kimbrel stated Monday, “if it’s 1-2, 0-2, I’m really thinking about my pitch and wanting to make a good pitch. I’m not going to rush just to get the pitch off. I’d rather take the ball.”

Left-handed batters are hitting .248, up 13 factors by an analogous level final season. Righties are hitting .248, up one level, leaving the general batting common up six factors.

Runs per sport have elevated to 9.1 from 8.7 and steals per sport to 1.4 from 1.0.

Average attendance of 28,404 is up 8.1% from an analogous time final yr and on monitor to be the best since 2018, and MLB says the median age of ticket patrons is 43, down from 46 in 2022 and 49 in 2019. This is the primary season since 2000 with a balanced schedule.

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