MLB teams extend beer sales due to pitch clock

Several MLB teams are now selling alcohol for a longer duration during their games, with one team even continuing the sale of alcohol for the entire game. Four teams, namely the Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Minnesota Twins, and Milwaukee Brewers, have announced that they will now stop selling beer during the eighth inning instead of the seventh inning.

According to reports, due to the quicker pace of games this season, which can be attributed to the addition of a pitch clock, games in Major League Baseball are averaging 30 minutes shorter than the previous year. This reduction creates a shorter period for stadiums to sell beer and other alcoholic drinks.

The Houston Astros even announced that they will now sell alcohol at select locations up to the end of the game.

Although the MLB does not have a rule on when teams must suspend selling alcohol, all teams had typically ended the sale of alcoholic drinks in the seventh inning. With this change, it is expected that beer and other alcoholic drink sales will increase at stadiums. However, not everyone is on board with the change. Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Matt Strahm, for instance, expressed his disapproval and argued that alcohol sales should stop earlier instead of later.

“The reason we stopped [selling alcohol in] the seventh before was to give our fans time to sober up and drive home safe, correct? So now, with a faster-pace game, and me just being a man of common sense, if the game is going to finish quicker, would we not move the beer sales back to the sixth inning to give our fans time to sober up and drive home?” Strahm said on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast.