Oct 9, 2023 - Sports
Baseball games got a lot faster after MLB's major rule changes
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Major League Baseball bet that a series of rule changes this season would bring down the length of games and make the sport more exciting.
Why it matters: It paid off.
By the numbers: The average time of a nine-inning game fell to just under 2:40 — 24 minutes less than last season, and the shortest since 1985.
- The changes drove a spike in batting average and the most stolen bases in nearly 40 years, AP reports.
Meanwhile, attendance shot up. Total attendance for the regular season was 70,747,365 — marking "the first time MLB's paid attendance has broken the 70 million mark since 2017," the league said.
Flashback: Before this season started, the MLB made several major changes — including a pitch clock and bigger bases — to inject more excitement into the game.
