Unintended Consequences

If you’ll pardon the pun, I knew it was only a matter of time before a ballgame this season was going to be played in under two hours. I give you yesterday’s 1-0 win by the Marlins over the Twins, completed in a snappy 1:57. What hath Theo Epstein and the pitch clock wrought? Last week, the average time of games was a reported 2:38, and even that figure is deceptive. Consider that yesterday’s Braves-Cardinals’ game featured twenty-two hits and eighteen strikeouts, Atlanta winning 4-1. Last year, we’re talking three-plus hours, yesterday, all of 2:20. Wow. Who’s got time to down another Bud with the innings zipping by? And here is an unintended consequence of the rule changes—concession sales are likely to go down. How long till owners start to complain? My guess is that there could reach a point where concessions are part of the ticket price. You want to see a game, you have to buy so many beers or sodas or hot dogs equaling a certain amount of money. Won’t that be fun?