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Apitch clock (also known as apitch timer)[1] is used in variousbaseball leagues to limit the amount of time apitcher takes before throwing the ball to thehitter and/or limit the amount of time the hitter uses before he is set to hit.
Various baseball leagues and tournaments around the world use a pitch clock to speed up the pace of play.Major League Baseball (MLB) began using a pitch clock in the2023 season following a period of tests onMLB partner leagues,minor league baseball, andcollege baseball.[2]
In 1962,Hap Dumont, head of the semi-proNational Baseball Congress, commissioned theTimex Corporation to build a clock to install in the scoreboard atLawrence Stadium inWichita, Kansas for theNBC National Tournament, with a 20 second pitch clock and 90 seconds between innings.[3] The clock buzzed when the timer went off, with a ball called if the pitcher violated and a strike if the batter violated the timer. In 1965, Dumont predicted Major League Baseball would use the NBC electronic timer in two years. The timer has been used for theNBC World Series in Wichita ever since.[4]
In professional baseball,Pacific Coast League PresidentDewey Soriano ordered PCL umpires to enforce the 20 second pitch timer listed in the rulebook in 1962. Two teams in the PCL, theSpokane Indians andPortland Beavers, installed pitch clocks in their stadiums to varying levels of success, with umpires not always calling balls after violations.[5] In 1963, theTexas League implemented pitch clocks league wide, but were discontinued before the 1965 season.[6] TheMidwest League’sQuad City Angels saw the most success with their pitch clock, installing it in 1963 and using it at least through the 1969 season.[7]
Incollege baseball, theSoutheastern Conference experimented with using pitch clocks in 2010. Pitchers were given twenty seconds to throw the pitch, or a ball would be added to thecount. Similarly, a batter stepping out of thebatter's box with less than five seconds on the clock was assessed an additional strike.[8] After the 2010 season, theNational Collegiate Athletic Association sought to make the pitch clock mandatory,[9] and instituted it for the 2011 college baseball season, but only when there are norunners on base.[10]
The first professional league to use pitch clocks was theArizona Fall League, starting in 2014. On January 15, 2015,Major League Baseball (MLB) announced it would institute a 20-second pitch clock inMinor League Baseball forDouble-A andTriple-A teams during the 2015 season.[11] Pitchers were allowed twenty seconds to throw a pitch, with the penalty of aball awarded to the batter if not followed.[12] Along with other rules affecting thepace of play, the clock contributed to a 12-minute reduction in game times between the 2014 and 2015 seasons, compared to the leagues that did not use the clock, which saw game times change from an increase of three minutes per game to a decrease in five minutes per game.[13] Game times increased in 2016 and 2017, but were still faster than games in 2014.[14] The independentAtlantic League began using a 12-second pitch clock.[15]
The1901 season saw the implementation of a predecessor to the modern-day pitch clock. When no runners were on base, a one-ball penalty would be imposed if the pitcher did not deliver a pitch within 20 seconds of the batter taking his stance at the plate.[16][17] The rules were tightened before the start of the1955 season, and the 20-second timer now started once the pitcher received the ball. However, these 20-second limits were hardly ever enforced, and were left to the umpire's judgement.[18][5]
MLB and theMLB Players Association (MLBPA) discussed the possibility of introducing the pitch clock in the major leagues for the 2018 season.[14] MLB opted against imposing it unilaterally, over the opposition of the MLBPA.[19] MLB implemented a 20-second pitch clock inspring training games in 2019.[20][21] Thecollective bargaining agreement reached to end the2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout included the possibility of introducing a pitch clock for the 2023 MLB season. Four active players plus six persons appointed by MLB and one umpire formed a Joint Competition Committee to review and recommend any changes to playing rules.[22]
On September 8, 2022, MLB announced that rules changes for 2023 included the use of a pitch clock.[23] Pitchers would have 15 seconds between pitches when there are no baserunners and 20 seconds if there is at least one baserunner. Also, the batter will have seven to twelve seconds to be in the stance ready to hit, or an automatic strike will be called. The clock starts when the pitcher gets the ball and the catcher and batter are ready.[24]
In addition to its primary use to time pitches, the clock indicates the time remaining in atelevision timeout for commercials (usually between each half of an inning), and also to time the warmup period on the mound for arelief pitcher coming out of thebullpen. There are multiple iterations and pitch clock units displayed throughout a major league stadium to allow its full visibility for players, coaches, umpires, press, and spectators throughout the venue, with eachsynchronized to keep in exact time, which is controlled by a field time coordinator who has direct communication with the umpires, who arbitrate and can overrule them in certain circumstances.[25] The system is also tied into by theproduction trucks of the game broadcasters, allowing them to display the pitch timer within thescore bug, which as a backup can use a camera focused on the physical field timer if that system runs into technical issues.[26]
Marcus Stroman of theChicago Cubs became the first pitcher to violate the pitch clock during the regular season, during the third inning of the 2023 opening day game against theMilwaukee Brewers. The Baltimore Orioles'Austin Hays was the first batter to receive a strike call due to a time infraction, whileRafael Devers of the Boston Red Sox was the first to be called for a strikeout.[27]
The first 400 Major League Baseball games during the2023 season were, on average, about 30 minutes shorter than the first 400 of theprevious season. In addition, thestandard deviation of game times was down significantly. The game length had not been this consistent since the1942 season.[28] MLB postseason games in the first year of the pitch clock were 21 minutes shorter on average than postseason games in the previous year, with more runs and stolen bases.[29]
In December 2023 the MLB competition committee approved a rule change to reduce the pitch clock from 20 to 18 seconds with runners on base, beginning in the2024 season.[30]
In the 2023 inaugural season for the rule there were 1,048 violations: 747 by pitchers, 286 by hitters, and 15 by catchers.[31] In the 2024 season there were significantly fewer: 602 total; 465 by pitchers, 133 by batters and four by catchers. TheHouston Astros led MLB teams with 35 pitch clock violations and theWashington Nationals'Kyle Finnegan led individuals with 11.
The Japan Amateur Baseball Association (part of theBaseball Federation of Japan) which organizes most Japanese adult baseball outsideNippon Professional Baseball and its minor league teams, decided to adopt the pitch clock after MLB's success in 2023 Spring Training.[32]
KBO League introduced the pitch clock system in the 2025 season.[33]
Data regarding the effect of the pitch clock on injuries is limited. But a 2024 study concluded that the rate of injuries decreased significantly after the MLB pitch clock was introduced in 2023. The authors noted that the 2023 season saw a statistically significant decrease in total injuries, undisclosed injuries and torso injuries, but that there was no statistically significant difference in the number of elbow injuries suffered by pitchers compared to the 2021 or 2022 seasons.[34]
