Could the pitch clock be extended for MLB postseason games?
The pitch clock counts down as Pittsburgh Pirates' Carlos Santana waits for a pitch from Houston's Jose Urquidy last April. Credit: AP/Gene J. Puskar
SEATTLE — Is baseball prepared to go back in time, by adding more of it and potentially creating longer games, for this year’s stretch run and playoffs?
Both commissioner Rob Manfred and union executive director Tony Clark raised the possibility Tuesday during separate Q & A sessions with the Baseball Writers Association of America. The rationale being that some players are concerned about the higher stakes and increased intensity come October, thus the need to go beyond the current clock, which stands at 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 with a runner on.
Of the two, Manfred is leaning against making such a move. Why would the commissioner choose to go backward? Manfred opened Tuesday’s discussion by going down a list of MLB’s successes in the first half, chief among them the pitch clock, which has shortened the average length of a nine-inning game to 2:38 (down from 3:03 last season and 3:10 in 2021).
“In terms of making an alteration, we’re going to continue to talk to the players,” Manfred said. “I’m sure I’m going to have some conversations with Tony about this issue. I would make two points. I do in general -- and there are exceptions to this, including the extra-inning rule -- think you ought to play the postseason the way you play the regular season.
“Secondly, we are comfortable with the way the clock and the violations -- particularly late in the game and high-leverage situations that we’re watching -- have been managed. Hats off to our umpires in terms of using their discretion to avoid the kind of problems that I admit exist as a possibility.”
As for the clock violations, which result in an automatic ball for the pitcher or strike for a hitter, MLB’s first-half data indicates they have steadily decreased during the season as players have adjusted to the new pace of play rules, with 60% of games having zero violations. Only 12% of games have featured multiple violations.
“If you rip the Band-Aid off, it’s undoubtedly going to lead to some adjustments being made, but our guys have been fantastic,” Clark said. “There are still some concerns there, particularly as it relates to September and October ... I don’t believe there’s any player nor do I believe there’s too many folks that want to have a new rule dramatically affect a game in the pennant chase or in the playoffs.”
Manfred has been more diplomatic in his dealings with the players since the contentious 2022 lockout that preceded the new CBA, and he praised them Tuesday for limiting their pushback on the new rules. Overall, Manfred believes the game is more appealing than it’s been in quite some time, and it’s not only because the clock is creating a quicker pace.
“It’s about action and athleticism in my view,” Manfred said.
A stickier situation?
With this year’s crackdown on sticky substances, especially outlawed uses of the otherwise legal rosin, Manfred again defended the umpires, saying the suspensions of the Yankees’ Domingo German and the Mets’ duo of Max Scherzer and Drew Smith were in the category of “clear” to “egregious” violations. There could be hope for giving a more standard grip to the baseballs, however, as Manfred said MLB has been working with Dow to create a pre-packaged tacky ball.
“It would literally eliminate many of the variables in the current process,” Manfred said. “It would come out of sealed foil pouch at the ballpark, with no individual muddying of the baseball. But like everything in baseball when you inch toward a solution, you figure out another problem.”
Manfred then explained how the baseball would then be a “pearl,” or pure white, and players may find that difficult to work with as well. But coming up with a solution remains on MLB’s radar.
Sugar’s rehab sweet
The Reds’ Alexis Diaz, at the All-Star Game, provided a positive injury report on his rehabbing brother (and Mets closer) Edwin, who had knee surgery in March after a WBC celebration went terribly awry.
“He’s doing really well,” Diaz told Newsday through an interpreter. “He’s been going out and throwing 125 to 150 feet every day . . . He’s been recovering pretty fast and even says that as well. He’s a true athlete and really can recover quickly, so I hope to see him out there really soon.”
The Mets are hoping for a return before the end of this season but have not given a more precise timeline.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
