Major League Baseball (MLB) has witnessed a significant decline in batting average and an increase in game duration during the first two weeks of the 2023 season. The batting average has plummeted to .242, a seven percentage point drop compared to the same period last year. This decline comes despite MLB’s implementation of restrictions on defensive shifts in 2022, which initially led to a rise in batting average.
The average time of a nine-inning game has also increased by two minutes to 2:39, primarily due to the introduction of a pitch clock in the previous season. The clock, which limits the time pitchers have to throw and batters have to be ready, has been met with mixed reactions. While it has reduced the number of pitch clock violations, it has also been blamed for a series of pitcher injuries.
The decline in batting average is attributed to several factors, including the increasing velocity of fastballs and the emergence of younger pitchers with less experience against batters. The average four-seam fastball velocity has reached 94.2 mph this season, up from 94.0 mph last year. Additionally, the number of pitches thrown at 100 mph or more has skyrocketed from 1,107 in 2017 to 3,880 in 2022.
The impact of the pitch clock on game duration is evident in the gradual increase in average game time throughout last season. However, the number of pitch clock violations has decreased significantly, with an average of 0.34 violations per game compared to 0.84 in the first two weeks of last season.
Despite the challenges faced by batters, stolen bases have remained steady at an average of 2.4 per game. However, the success rate has declined slightly to 78.6% from 81.2%. This follows a sharp increase in steals last year, which reached 3,503, the highest since 1987.
