FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Baseball is on the clock.
The traditionally timeless sport implemented a pitch clock in major league spring training for the first time on Saturday in an attempt to hurry up both pitchers and hitters and keep the modern fan from tuning out the increasingly lengthy games.
Sixteen games across Florida and Arizona were scheduled to be played under the new rules, which were being phased in without threat of penalty for the first few days or more. There were no notable incidents in the afternoon, when three of the six games approached or surpassed 3 hours.