As the pitch clock prepares for its postseason debut, MLB made the decision Friday to utilize neutral clock operators for all playoff games this year, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The league apparently evaluated clock operators from all 30 teams throughout the season and will choose up to the best dozen to work postseason games which are set to begin Oct. 3.
It's important to note that a postseason operator won't be allowed to work a game involving the team they operated for during the regular season.
Each series will have the same operator for every game throughout the series.
In its first season of existence, the pitch clock was an unquestionable success. While there were some fans who complained about it at first, there's no denying it has helped increase the action and popularity of the sport.
Two years after the average game time reached an all-time high of 3:10 in 2021, the average length of a nine-inning MLB game in 2023 dropped all the way down to 2:38. That's the lowest figure since the 1984 campaign.
Additionally, league-wide batting average, number of runs scored and batting average on balls in play have all gone up, while the strikeout rate has taken a minuscule dip.
Perhaps most importantly, attendance is up 8.1 percent compared to last season across MLB, with 23 clubs seeing positive year-over-year growth and 12 teams seeing a jump of 10 percent or better.
Attendance in June also reached its highest point since 2017.
