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Major League Baseball is making a change to how it uses the pitch clock, unveiling plans to use neutral clock operators when the playoffs begin in October.
This postseason will be the first with a pitch clock.
Pitch clock operators for all 30 teams were evaluated during the regular season.
On Friday, MLB officials said up to 12 of the best performers will be selected to work playoff games.
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The pitch clock ticks down in the top of the ninth in a game between the Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies in Arlington, Texas, April 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Emil T. Lippe, File)
An operator will be prohibited from working a playoff game involving any team the operator worked for during the season.
And each postseason series will have the same clock operator the entire series.
MLB’S PITCH CLOCK MAY BE LEADING TO BETTER DEFENSE, PLAYERS AND MANAGERS SAY
Earlier this month, ESPN reported that MLB officials were hopeful the momentum of faster regular-season games will carry into the postseason.
The MLB logo on batting practice balls before a game between the Peoria Javelinas and the Mesa Solar Sox at Sloan Park Sept. 21, 2019, in Mesa, Ariz. (Jill Weisleder/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The average time of a nine-inning game has dropped from three hours, 10 minutes in 2021 to three hours, four minutes last year — when the PitchCom electronic signaling device was introduced — to two hours, 39 minutes so far this season.
The pitch clock counts down as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Carlos Santana (41) waits for a pitch during the first inning of a game in Pittsburgh April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
The average has crept up from two hours, 37 minutes in April to two hours, 38 minutes in May; two hours, 39 minutes in June; and two hours, 41 minutes in both July and August.
Clock violations have averaged 0.48 per game, dropping from 0.71 in April to 0.57 in May, 0.41 in June, 0.38 in July and 0.29 in August.
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The league’s competition committee adopted the clock ahead of opening day. MLB also banned defensive shifts and introduced larger bases this season.
The decision to keep the pitch clock comes amid ongoing complaints from several players.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
