Baseball is different in 2020. But this is still the same:

• 9-inning games are taking 3:07, a record.
• 36% of PAs are HR/BB/K, a record.
• Batters are striking out in 23.2% of PAs, a record.
• Teams are using 4.6 pitchers a game, a record. https://www.wsj.com/articles/baseball-in-2020-no-fans-new-rules-still-slow-11598449821">https://www.wsj.com/articles/...

More 2020 stuff:

• The overall batting average is .242. In the past century, only 1967 and 1968 were worse, right before baseball lowered the mound.

• For the first time ever, starters are averaging less than five innings an outing. https://www.wsj.com/articles/baseball-in-2020-no-fans-new-rules-still-slow-11598449821">https://www.wsj.com/articles/...

I know there probably are some of you who don& #39;t think any of this matters, that time of game and pace of play and the aesthetics of the sport aren& #39;t important. But no matter how you feel about it, we have to acknowledge that baseball is fundamentally different than ever before.

I still love baseball and always will. I also don& #39;t think that the average regular-season game on a Wednesday in August should take 187 minutes, nor do I think that more than a third of batters striking out, walking or homering is necessarily the ideal product on the field.