Major League Baseball has undergone sweeping changes in recent years, reshaping how both fans and players experience the game. From larger bases and limited mound visits to PitchCom and the looming possibility of automated strike zones, today’s product looks very different from just a few seasons ago.
Perhaps the most significant change has been the length of games. At its peak, the average nine-inning matchup stretched to three hours and 10 minutes. Since the introduction of the pitch timer in 2023, that number has dropped dramatically to just over two and a half hours, a shift many fans and players have welcomed.
Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, who retired after the pitch clock’s debut season, admits the adjustment was needed.
“It became a little bit too much, probably,” Wainwright told Fox News Digital. “The length of the game now is perfect.”
Still, the veteran says he misses some elements of the old pace.
“I miss the days where it’s the bottom of the ninth, it’s the playoffs, there’s so much drama—a pitcher can step off, think about what’s next, and build that tension. That’s gone now,” he explained.
Wainwright also noted how the accelerated pace affects in-game strategy.
“I’m a thinking man’s pitcher. I loved the mental chess match. But with eight seconds on the clock, there’s no time to really process,” he said.
Beyond timing, the 42-year-old reflected on baseball’s analytics revolution. While he credits data tools and slow-motion cameras for helping refine pitching mechanics, he also warns that relying too heavily on numbers can be misleading.
“I got Freddie Freeman out on a terrible backup cutter once, and the analytics said that was a good pitch for me,” Wainwright recalled. “But if I threw it again, he’d hit it 450 feet. Computers don’t understand the human side of the game.”
Despite debates over tradition versus innovation, MLB appears to be reaping the rewards. Attendance is projected to surpass 29,000 fans per game for the third straight year—the longest streak since before 2017. That figure comes despite the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays playing in minor league stadiums with reduced capacities.
With faster games, more offense, and new technology shaping the sport, baseball is clearly in the midst of a new era—one that excites some while leaving others nostalgic for the drama of seasons past.
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