I have long been of the opinion that baseball is perfect as it is. Well, at least fundamentally... you can miss me with the analytics that have crept into the game since Billy Beane invented Moneyball.

When Major League Commissioner Rob Manfred implemented the new rules for this season I was skeptical at best. However, I have been very impressed with the pitch clock and its effect on the length of games and, to a greater extent, the pace of play and level of excitement during a game.

Gone are the days of limitless batting glove adjustments and timeouts called by batters along with leisurely strolls around the pitching mound and hours-long stare-downs by pitchers hoping to throw off the timing of batters.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the rules have sped up games by nearly 30 minutes so far this spring.

I have never been one to mind the length of baseball games in general. After all, a lot happens over the course of three hours. After seeing the pitch clock in action, though, I realized just how much of that three hours was wasted on complete nonsense.

On Monday the Twins played against the Yankees in a Spring Training game. The two teams combined to use 11 pitchers and over 30 position platers but the 1-0 game was over in a tidy two hours and twelve minutes. Yes please!

For the record, I still hate the automatic runner on 2nd to start extra innings and I am lukewarm at best about banning the shift. But, I hope the pitch clock is here to stay!

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