Famously slow Major League Baseball games are moving slightly faster thanks to a pitch clock introduced this season, but it has had another unintended consequence for beer sellers.
Key points:
- Pitchers and batters in Major League Baseball face a countdown for every at-bat this season
- It has shortened games by half an hour on average
- Teams have historically stopped selling alcohol in the seventh inning, but some are pushing that back now
With a little less time for fans to enjoy an adult beverage, at least four teams have extended alcohol sales through the eighth inning this season.
The Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers are all selling alcohol into the penultimate inning, while others, like the Miami Marlins and New York Mets, have not ruled out extending from their seventh-inning cutoffs.
“Totally makes sense to me,” fan Tom Lienhardt said as he sipped on a beer before the Brewers-Diamondbacks game at in Phoenix.
“Since the games are shorter, you’ve got to adjust.”
Teams historically have stopped selling alcohol after the seventh.
MLB games have been on average 31 minutes shorter this season, largely thanks to a series of rule changes, particularly the new pitch clock.
Average game time is on track to be the sport’s lowest for a season since 1984.
The minor leagues played with the pitch clock last season and Kevin Mahoney, general manager of the Class A Brooklyn Cyclones, said there was no drop-off in concession sales.
Still, some big league teams have felt the need to make adjustments.
The Rangers allowed some alcohol sales in the eighth inning last season, but have made that option more widely available in 2023.
The team said the move to offer in-seat service to everyone — fans can order on their phones — was done partly in reaction to the pitch clock and the potential of shorter game times so fans would not have to miss extended action waiting in lines at concession stands.
Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger confirmed to MLB.com that their team’s move to extend alcohol sales through the eighth was an experiment.
“If it turns out that this is causing an issue or we feel that it might cause an issue, then we’ll revert to what we have done previously,” Schlesinger said.
MLB said it does not regulate when teams sell alcohol, but most franchises have avoided selling into the final couple of innings at least partly to avoid over-serving customers who could then get in their cars and drive home.
“If it cuts off sales in the seventh inning, the eighth inning or the ninth inning, that really doesn’t affect our stance because regardless, we just don’t want people to drink alcohol and then drive home from the game,” said Erin Payton, Regional Executive Director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Many parks are also connected to restaurants or have VIP areas where the booze does not stop.
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AP