The major league baseball pitch clock: one year position player injury analysis

Background: In 2023, Major League Baseball (MLB) implemented the pitch clock. The effects of the pitch clock on player injury rates is largely unknown, and some, including the major league baseball players association, have suggested that pitchers may be at an increased risk of injury with its implementation. Position players have received little attention in these discussions, even though they may be at the same theorized risk of injuries. The aim of this study is to determine if implementation of the 2023 MLB pitch clock influenced the incidence of injuries in position players. It is hypothesized that implementation of the MLB pitch clock will lead to a rise in injuries due to a reduction of time for the primary biological energy system used by baseball to restore to normal levels.

Methods: Injury data was collected from the fangraphs.com injury database, the most comprehensive MLB data and statistical database website, for the 2021, 2022, and 2023 MLB seasons. The incidence rate ratio was calculated and used to compare the injury rate for the 2023 season to the 2021 and 2022 seasons for both major anatomical categories and anatomical subcategories. A z-test for proportions was used to determine significance.

Results: Incidence rate ratio comparison of the 2023 MLB pitch clock season versus the 2021 MLB season showed a decrease in the total incidence of injuries (p < .001), lower extremity injuries (p < .001), and hamstring injuries (p = .032). Incidence rate ratio comparison of the 2023 MLB pitch clock season versus the 2022 MLB season showed a decrease in the total incidence of injuries (p = .010), undisclosed injuries (p < .001), and knee injuries (p = .035).

Conclusions: Following the implementation of the pitch clock during the 2023 MLB season, the total number of injuries and several lower extremity injury categories decreased. Due to a decrease in the overall time spent on the field in a single game and over a season, it could be hypothesized that the pitch clock decreased the workload for position players, leading to this drop in injuries. Further longitudinal investigation must be done to investigate if this influence of the MLB pitch clock persists overtime.