The average time for a nine-inning game in the League Championship Series went up by 12 minutes to 3:16 this year, partly due to increased scoring. However, the total postseason game time decreased by two minutes to 3:00 in the second year of using the pitch clock.
In 2021, the LCS average was 3:40, which dropped to 3:26 in the first year with the PitchCom electronic pitch-calling device and 3:04 last year after the pitch clock was introduced.
In the LCS, teams averaged 11.3 runs per game, which is higher than 8.8 in 2023, 7.9 in 2022, and 9.9 in 2021.
For postseason nine-inning games leading up to the LCS, the average time decreased from 3:22 in 2022 and 3:37 in 2021. The average scoring was 8.2 runs per game this year, compared to 8.0 last year, 7.9 in 2022, and 8.7 in 2021.
Division Series games had an average time of 3:00, down from 3:06 last year, 3:22 in 2022, and 3:33 in 2021. The Wild Card Series averaged 2:44, a drop from 2:50 last year, 3:19 in 2022, and 3:44 in 2021.
Last year’s postseason average time finished at 3:02, lower than 3:23 in 2022 and 3:37 in 2021. The World Series last year averaged 3:01, making it the fastest since 1996, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
This season’s regular-season average time was 2:36, which is four minutes less than in 2023 and 28 minutes less than in 2022. This is the lowest average since 1984’s 2:35.
MLB has reduced the pitch clock with runners on base to 18 seconds, down from 20 seconds, for the upcoming 2024 season, while it remains at 15 seconds when there are no runners on base.
