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Bernie Williams: Shohei Ohtani Needs to Decide Between Hitting and Pitching

Sources: MLB Won’t Adjust the Pitch Clock for the Postseason

The pitch timer in postseason play will remain unchanged from regular-season play. After a meeting of its Executive Council, MLB informed the Competition Committee on Friday afternoon that it will not be presenting any proposals to amend rules for postseason play this year, according to a league official.

The notification is an indication that owners are satisfied with its pace-of-play initiatives and how players have adapted to the new rules. Thanks largely to a timer, which requires a pitch within 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 seconds with runners, the average time of game has been cut from 3:03 to 2:39.

As hitters have grown more comfortable in using one timeout per plate appearance, time of game has crept up from 2:37 in April to 2:41 in August.

Baltimore Orioles second baseman Adam Frazier warms up next to the pitch clock during at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

There had been some discussion among players that postseason play could benefit from more time on the clock between pitches, given the importance of the games. Data from MLB indicates that players have adjusted well over the course of the season to playing with the clock.

According to that data, pitches with the bases empty are thrown with an average of 6.5 seconds remaining on the timer and 7.4 seconds remaining with runners on. Violations have declined from 0.71 per game in April to 0.29 per game in August.

Last month 75.4% of all games were played without a pitch-timer violation, including all 15 games on Aug. 25.

All other new rules will remain as is, including the ban on shifts and the limit on pickoff throws by pitchers. Stolen base attempts have declined slightly over the season, from 1.8 per game in April and May to 1.7 in July and August. Runs per game were 9.4 in August, up from the previous monthly high this year of 9.3 in July.

Other effects of the new rules, compared to last year:

  • Runs per game are up 7%, from 8.6 to 9.2.
  • Batting average is up six points, from .243 to .249.
  • Batting average on balls in play is up seven points, from .290 to .297. The increase is 36 points on ground balls hit by lefthanders.
  • Pickoff attempts per game are down 20%, from 6.0 to 4.8.
  • The stolen base success rate is 80.2%, an all-time high, and up from 75.4%.
  • The strikeout rate has increased from 22.3% to 22.7%, though it is below the 2021 level of 23.4%.
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