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The Milwaukee Brewers have changed their minds about a pitch clock-infused decision they had made earlier this season involving beer sales at their stadium, American Family Field.
With the pitch clock shaving game times, the Brewers- and a handful of other teams- opted to extend beer sales through the eighth inning.
Citing its impact, or lack thereof, on sales, the Brewers have decided to go back to shutting down beer sales after the seventh inning, starting with Monday's contest against the Los Angeles Dodgers, per ESPN.
Per ESPN, the Brewers said that fan behavior had no bearing on this decision. Rather, the dramatic drop in beer sales in the late innings forced their hand in returning back to the previous policy.
The Brewers first made the move to extend beer sales in April, calling it an experimental move.
They were joined by the likes of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, and the Texas Rangers.
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Matt Strahm was critical of these decisions, suggesting that teams end beer sales in the sixth inning while pointing out that any move to extend the sales of alcohol wouldn't give fans time to sober up for their drive home from the stadium.
It's certainly a fine line- and one that MLB does not want to cross.
MLB game times had ballooned to the highest in league history in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
As part of the collective bargaining agreement that ended the MLB lockout in March of 2022, the league included the possibility of implementing a pitch clock.
The measure was voted upon by the Joint Competition Committee back in February.
The pitch clock has shaved off 27 minutes off of the average game length as of Sunday.
