MLB Pitch Clock: MLB's Best Move or a Complete Disaster?

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The MLB pitch clock was instituted in 2023 with the goal of speeding up the game to attract a younger fan base and dramatically increase overall attendance. In theory, it sounded like a great idea right away. However, was that only good in theory and not necessarily good in practicality?

The attendance increased substantially due to the wonders of the pitch clock combined with a general desire to return to normal life after one of the worst and most deadly pandemics in human history. The league appeared to save itself from a possible end due in part to the addition of the pitch clock. The games take approximately 30 fewer minutes to complete.

However, the issue MLB faces is making sure the pitch clock is adequate. It seems like a relatively risky idea to essentially tell pitchers they have to, in a sense, rush their deliveries to avoid the penalty of an additional ball, thus affecting the pitch count.

Did the league unintentionally devalue the safety of pitchers with this? Although many pitchers appear to be doing a great job adjusting to the rule change after one full season, the risk of major injuries seems to be there.

It’s very rare to see two starting pitchers, let alone all-star pitchers, suffer season-ending injuries that require the same exact surgeries, “Tommy John” Surgeries. Cleveland ace Shane Bieber and Atlanta ace Spencer Strider are out for the season.

Is there a medical risk to rushing pitching deliveries? Recently the Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Union (MLBPA) Tony Clark, suggested that the commissioner risked the health and safety of players when he initiated a rule change to reduce the pitch clock with runners on base from 20 seconds to 18 seconds.

Major League Baseball rebutted and said that Clark ignored evidence that was a decades long problem before the pitch clock was instituted. A study by John Hopkins University found no evidence that the pitch clock resulted in a significant increase of injuries.

Is the pitch clock taking a smaller problem and essentially “throwing gasoline on a fire”? Perhaps once MLB and the MLBPA compile ten years worth of data, we will have a better idea of whether or not the pitch clock is making a health risk far worse.

Hall of Fame and World Series winning Starting Pitcher John Smoltz said that it’s not so much the clock as it is asking players to throw harder and faster.

Are we “grasping at straws” or will we see medical evidence that rushing pitches leads to more significant injuries?

Dr. Andrew Green, University Orthopedics said, “The number of pitchers that are having ligament reconstruction surgery is increasing every year “