Thursday not only marked Opening Day for the 2023 MLB season, but it was the first time in history that the pitch clock was used during a regular season game. The rule change made its long awaited debut when the Yankees hosted the Giants and the game was shortened by a significant amount.
After New York’s 5–0 win, the length of the game was announced to be only two hours and 33 minutes. For context, the average length of a nine-inning MLB game was three hours and three minutes in 2022. The average length of an MLB game hasn’t dipped below three hours since the ’15 season when it was two hours and 56 minutes.
Social media was loving the change of pace and the reactions have been universally positive from fans already.
The new pitch clock shortened spring training games by an average of 26 minutes, according to MLB, and all signs point to the pitch clock vastly improving the viewing experience for fans early on in the regular season.
