The average time of a nine-inning major league game dropped to 2 hours, 40 minutes in the first year of the pitch clock, a 24-minute decrease in a season of change that resulted in a spike in batting average and the most stolen bases in nearly 40 years.
Left-handed hitters benefitted from the new restrictions on defensive shifts, runners took advantage of the slightly decreased distance between bases, and average fastball velocity set another record.
Miami had the fastest average at just under 2:35, while Baltimore and San Diego topped the majors at 2:44. As part of the clock, MLB instituted penalties for violations that included balls against pitchers and strikes against batters. The New York Mets led with 57 violations, followed by Tampa Bay , Pittsburgh , San Diego and Miami . Seattle had the fewest with 15.
The major league batting average rose to .248 from .243 last year, which had been its lowest since 1968. The average for left-handed batters, who benefited most from the shift restrictions, increased 11 percentage points to .247, its highest in four years. The average for right-handed hitters rose by two percentage points to .249.
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