You've no doubt heard this all-too-common refrain by now: Major League Baseball games drag on and simply last too long.
MLB appeared to make strides on that front last season when some new pace-of-game measures dropped the average time of a nine-inning contest to 2:56, a six-minute improvement from an all-time high of 3:02 in 2014. But in 2016, the average time has crept back to an even three hours.
At a recent owners meeting, commissioner Rob Manfred floated the idea of limiting pitching changes and installing pitch clocks as ways to speed up games and make them more appealing to the newest generation of fans.
There has been ample criticism of the usual suspects, whether it's a conga line of relievers (especially after September call-ups), too many commercials or lengthy replay reviews; those issues do need to be addressed, as their impact on game times is undeniable. But as drastic moves are pondered, a pleasant trend is bubbling up from within.
More up-and-coming pitchers work at a pace that would make legendary quick-pitcher Mark Buehrle proud. Among those leading the way is 25-year-old Mets lefty Steven Matz, who burns just 18.7 seconds between pitches, according to FanGraphs, the third-fastest among pitchers with at least 100 innings (entering play Tuesday). Said Matz to The Wall Street Journal earlier this season: "I'm definitely a rhythm pitcher. I try to stay in that rhythm and work quickly."
Young hurlers like Matz, who had his season ended early by an elbow injury, offer a ray of hope that baseball will be able to lower game times without resorting to drastic measures. Let's take a closer look.