MLB To Speed Up Games By Switching To Computer Simulation After Second Inning

NEW YORK—Amid a slew of rules changes designed to improve the game in the upcoming season, Major League Baseball officials announced Monday that they would speed up play by switching to a computer simulation after the second inning. “Baseball needs to get with the times by making games shorter, so we’ve designed an algorithm that will take over after two innings and determine the winner in seconds, reducing each game to a tight 20 minutes,” said MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, explaining that two innings of baseball would give the simulation enough accurate real-time data to pair with its repositories of win probabilities, previous performance, and other statistics to generate an accurate outcome of the game. “Not only will simulating innings three through nine cut down on wear and tear for our players—it will better work with fan expectations and television packages to ensure the games remain short and exciting all the way through. We know fans will enjoy those split seconds waiting in the stands or on their couches immediately after the second inning concludes until the simulation spits out the result. And don’t worry about statistics, because fans who use sportsbook apps like DraftKings and FanDuel will still be able to make bets based on player performance and get accurate results for which players hit simulated home runs or struck out over 10 simulated batters. We hope these simulations will provide the thrills that baseball fans are looking for, and if they aren’t—well, we can always adjust the algorithm to juice the home runs.” Manfred added that the league was also looking to shorten games by reducing the number of pitches per at-bat in the first two innings to a single pitch and then simulating the rest.