MLB average game time drops to 2:36, the lowest since 1984

By: The Associated Press Posted: 11:45 AM CDT Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — The average time of a nine-inning major league baseball game dropped to 2 hours, 36 minutes in the second year year of the pitch clock, the lowest since 1984.

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NEW YORK (AP) — The average time of a nine-inning major league baseball game dropped to 2 hours, 36 minutes in the second year year of the pitch clock, the lowest since 1984.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/10/2024 (397 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW YORK (AP) — The average time of a nine-inning major league baseball game dropped to 2 hours, 36 minutes in the second year year of the pitch clock, the lowest since 1984.

The average was down 4 minutes from 2023 and 28 minutes from 2022. It had not been this low since 1984’s 2:35.

MLB shortened the pitch clock with runners on base by two seconds to 18 ahead of the 2024 season while keeping it at 15 seconds without runners on base.

FILE - The pitch clock is seen in the outfield during a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Friday, May 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster, File)

The average game time passed 3 hours for the first time in 2016. It reached a record 3:10 in 2021 before the introduction of the PitchCom electronic pitch-calling device helped bring it down to 3:04 in 2022.

Over the objections of the players’ association, MLB instituted a pitch clock for 2023 set at 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 seconds with runners on base.

This year’s monthly averages were steady: 2:36 for April and June, 2:34 for May and 2:37 for July, August and September.

Times gradually got longer in 2023: 2:37 in April, 2:38 in May, 2:39 in June, 2:41 in July and August and 2:44 in September.