The Major League Baseball pitch clock: two-year position player retrospective cohort injury analysis

One year after the Major League Baseball (MLB) pitch clock was implemented, position players saw decreased injury rates. The aim of this study was to see if injury rates in position players decreased two years after the implementation of the MLB pitch clock.

Injury data was collected for the 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 MLB seasons for position players using the fangraphs.com injury database. The incidence rate ratio was calculated to compare the injury rate for the 2024 season to each of the 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons. A z-test for proportions was used to determine significance levels.

Comparison of the 2024 season to both the 2022 and 2021 seasons found a statistically significant (P<0.05) decrease in the overall total incidence of injuries, upper extremity injuries, head and neck injuries, and lower extremity injuries. Comparison of the 2024 to the 2023 season also found a decrease in the incidence of injuries for the overall number of injuries (P=0.020) and head and neck injuries (P=0.424).

This study found a continued decrease in the overall incidence of injuries and a decrease in the incidence of injuries in multiple sub-categories at two-year follow-up since the implementation of the pitch clock. This continued decrease in injuries in position players may stem from a decrease in players' overall workloads over a season.