Rangers Manager Bruce Bochy Likes New Pace of Play

The Texas Rangers have played three Spring Training games in under three hours.

The Texas Rangers, like the rest of Major League Baseball, are getting used to the pitch clock and new pace of play.

And there’s someone why actually likes it — Rangers manager Bruce Bochy.

“It’s worked out very well,” Bochy said before Sunday’s spring game with Cleveland. “With the pace of the game, you know, these guys look at playing five or six innings (in spring). It’s going a lot quicker.

"It’s a lot easier to leave people out there. I’ve seen games in the past where you’re out there for an hour and a half and you’re in the bottom of the second inning. So this is nice. I don’t know if it’s been talked about enough, but it’s going to keep guys fresh when you’re playing his fast.”

The Rangers have played three spring games entering Monday’s contest with Cincinnati.

The first game, a 6-5 loss to Kansas City, was played in 2:33.

The second game, a 10-5 loss to Kansas City, actually went a bit faster at 2:29.

Sunday’s third game, a 13-4 Rangers victory, took 2:49.

The average game time in 2022 in MLB was 3:03.

In the minors, where they implemented the pitch clock in 2022, saw the average time of a game drop to 2:38 from 3:03 in 2021.

So far, so good for Bochy. But he has found one downside that has nothing to do with his job.

“There’s a lot of good things that’s happening with this clock and the pace of play,” he said. “Probably the worst this is they’re not selling as many beers. But I think it’s gone well.”

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