2023 World Series Games See Fastest Pace Since 1996 Amid Pitch Clock Introduction

In addition to pitch clock, larger bases and defensive shift limits also contribute to speedier games; changes lead to more interactive games, increased stolen bases, and higher batting averages.

Nine-inning games of the 2023 World Series averaged 3 hours and 1 minute, marking the fastest pace since 1996.
The introduction of the pitch clock, larger bases, and defensive shift limits led to increased stolen bases and higher batting averages, enhancing the interaction and quality of the games.
Throughout the postseason, the average game time was 3:02, significantly less than 3:23 in the previous year and 3:37 in 2021, demonstrating the effectiveness of the introduced changes.
Despite some players' requests to extend the clock in the postseason, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred maintained the pitch clock settings of 15 seconds with bases empty and 20 seconds with runners on base, emphasizing that the way the games were played all year should not be altered for the postseason.
Although the games were faster, they did not attract higher viewer ratings; the Texas-Arizona confrontation averaged only 9.11 million viewers, making it the least-watched Fall Classic in TV history.