I'm down in Birmingham, where I watched the Barons lose a game 6-5 to the Rocket City Trash Pandas. The Barons hit four homers, including a pair by Lenyn Sosa, and the outburst allowed them to claw back into the game and briefly take the lead before the Pandas scored a pair in the eighth.
All that action, and the game wrapped up in a tidy two hours and 35 minutes.
That happens to be the exact amount of time the average minor-league game takes to complete this year, as the enforcement of the pitch clock has not abated. Baseball America crunched the numbers, and the typical nine-inning MiLB game is 24 minutes shorter than its counterpart in 2021.
The difference lies just about entirely in the reduction/elimination of dead air.
This reduction in game time has not come about because of a dramatic change in the number of batters or baserunners. The average 2022 MiLB game sees 37.95 plate appearances per team, up from 37.78 plate appearances per team in 2021. Teams are averaging 4.93 runs per game this year compared to 5.04 runs last year with 7.9 hits this year vs. 8.1 last year. Last year, MiLB teams averaged 147.7 pitches per game. This year teams are averaging 148.4 pitches per game.
The amount of action happening in these games is roughly the same as it was last year, including virtually identical numbers of pitches per game. And the time allotted for between-inning changeovers and pitching changes has not been altered. But roughly 24 minutes per game have been cut by eliminating time between pitches and between at-bats.
I'll have more about the Barons later this week.
Norfolk 4, Charlotte 1
- Adam Haseley went 1-for-4.
- Jake Burger, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Carlos Pérez was 0-for-3 with a walk and a K.
- Yolbert Sánchez went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Notes:
*Wes Benjamin was granted his release by the White Sox in order to pursue an opportunity in the KBO. Combine that with the White Sox returning Kyle Crick to Charlotte instead of Davis Martin, and a thin Knights staff grows thinner.
Rocket City 6, Birmingham 5
- José Rodriguez went 1-for-4 with a stolen base.
- Lenyn Sosa homered twice during a 2-for-4 night, striking out once.
- Yoelqui Céspedes went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts, and was caught stealing.
Notes:
*Here's Sosa's first homer, which went opposite field with the assistance of a steady wind blowing to right. His other homer was a no-doubter to left.
*Céspedes made impressive throws to cut down one runner at second, and another one at third. He also struck out swinging on a pitch that hit him.
Winston-Salem 9, Ashevlle 1
- Oscar Colás went 1-for-4 with a triple and a walk.
- Bryan Ramos was 1-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Luis Mieses, 2-for-4 with a walk.
- Adam Hackenberg was 0-for-4 with a K.
- Harvin Mendoza, 1-for-4 with a triple.
- Andrew Dalquist: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
Fayetteville 10, Kannapolis 6
- James Beard went 2-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Wes Kath went 1-for-4 with a sac fly and a strikeout.
- Colson Montgomery, 2-for-3 with two walks.
- Wilfred Veras doubled, singled and struck out thrice.
- Noah Owen: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 14 of 35 pitches for strikes.
