Will casual baseball fans tune out if the pitch clock is ignored?

The crew from the Baseball is Dead podcast recently debated whether the pitch clock is good for postseason baseball — both from a play and viewing perspective.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This podcast contains adult language. Viewer discretion is advised.

Jared kicks off the discussion by noting that some players have already begun advocating that for the playoffs MLB should eliminate the pitch clock, as it does the ghost runner, to “get back to playing real baseball.” Jared notes that getting rid of the ghost runner is wildly different compared to getting rid of the pitch clock. Dallas, however, wants to run an exercise and ask why would you choose to eliminate the ghost runner in the postseason. He goes on to explain that for most, the competitive streak in us wants this to be done the right way, which, right or wrong, means you want a result to be decided in a fashion you’re familiar with and one that doesn’t feel cheapened by a new, progressive rule addition. Which means that for most, the willingness to sit through a four-hour baseball game is higher in the postseason than it is on a random day in May.

Joey does point out, however, that the postseason is actually when you need the pitch clock the most as it’s when the most casual fans are watching. Jayhay counters, however, that the extended time in between pitches in the postseason raises the tension, thus he’s willing to go along with it more in the postseason than he is in the regular season. However, Jayhay also worries that the baseball media will push a narrative about how much longer the postseason games were than the regular season games. Dallas says it would be then up to trusted names in the media to help explain the why behind the longer games and to help explain the weight and magnitude of each pitch and the thought process behind it all.

Elsewhere in the show, Dallas has some thoughts on how the pitch clock will even change the way the game is broadcast. Needless to say, Vin Scully would not be a fan of the accelerated clock ...

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Pitch Clock Madness

• Spring training finally kicked off recently which means we got our first look at the implementation of the pitch clock at the major league level. The reactions to the new rule have been wild after viral videos of games ending on violations made their rounds on the internet. Today we’re talking about everything we like about the pitch clock and what we feel needs to be tweaked. We also break down the impact it has had and will continue to make on pace of play and the game of baseball in general. Dallas is on Jared's case for putting on a few lbs and Jayhay thinks he showed up to camp a little chubby after getting breaded up in the offseason. We’re also talking the Manny Machado extension, whether the Padres are run by the Saudis, what Juan Soto’s contract might look like, the Orioles and Pirates finishing their game without umpires, Big Tasty and Jared’s Twitter interactions, and more! Enjoy!

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