🌅 The Tech Baseball Has Embraced

SOURCE

Codify Baseball

WHAT TO KNOW

• Washington Nationals pitchers needed 77 pitches to get through the bottom of the 3rd inning in a 11-2 loss to the New York Yankees on August 27, the most by a team in a single inning since 2003 (for perspective, Hall of Fame Atlanta Braves pitcher Greg Maddux threw 78 pitches in a complete-game win over the Chicago Cubs on July 22, 1997). The inning lasted 41 minutes and ended when Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe struck out swinging to make his second out of the frame.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Baseball has long struggled with the length of games. In 2023, in a bid to speed things up, MLB instituted a pitch clock, which has brought the length of games down from an average time of 3 hours and 4 minutes in 2022 to 2 hours and 36 minutes last season, the lowest average time since 1984.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• Pitch clocks aren’t the only new tech involved in baseball nowadays. MLB began testing the Automated Ball-Strike System—commonly called “robot umpires”—during spring training this season, allowing pitchers, catchers, and batters to challenge umpires’ calls by tapping their helmet. Batters were successful on 50% of challenges during spring training, while pitchers won 41% and catchers won 56%.