Major League Baseball's new pitch clock is not just shortening baseball games this season; it's also shortening the length of time fans can buy and enjoy sudsy beers or frothy margaritas at the stadiums.
The San Diego Padres confirmed Monday they decided to respond to the conundrum by extending alcohol sales to the first out of the top of the 8th inning. Previously, sales at the downtown stadium stopped after the 7th inning so the change extends sales for about one out.
The Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers have also extended alcohol sales through the eighth and the Miami Marlins and New York Mets have said they haven't ruled out making the change as well.
Padres VP of Communications Craig Hughner said the change was permitted under Petco Park's alcohol license and took effect on Opening Day.
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On social media, some fans applauded the change while others questioned the franchise's commitment to fan safety. Check out the comments on the Facebook post below.
MLB games have been considerably shorter this season thanks to a series of rule changes, particularly the new pitch clock. Through the first 1 1/2 weeks of the season, the average game time was down 31 minutes, on track to be the sport’s lowest since 1984.
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The Padres declined to comment if the shorter games were affecting concession sales.
The minor leagues played with the pitch clock last season. At least one minor league general manager — Kevin Mahoney of the Class A Brooklyn Cyclones — said there was no dropoff in concession sales even with shorter games.
Still, some big league teams have felt the need to make adjustments.
The Rangers allowed some alcohol sales in the eighth inning last season, but have made that option more widely available in 2023. The team said the move to offer in-seat service to everyone — fans can order on their phones — was done partly in reaction to the pitch clock and the potential of shorter game times so fans would not have to miss extended action waiting in lines at concession stands.
MLB says it does not regulate when teams sell alcohol. Most franchises have used the seventh inning as a cutoff, at least partly to avoid overserving customers who could then get in their cars and drive home.
But in reality, most teams already had areas around the ballpark where fans could get alcohol after the seventh, even if the concession stands stopped serving. Many parks are connected to restaurants or have VIP areas where the booze still flows.
“If it cuts off sales in the seventh inning, the eighth inning or the ninth inning, that really doesn’t affect our stance because regardless, we just don’t want people to drink alcohol and then drive home from the game,” said Erin Payton, Regional Executive Director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
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AP Baseball Writers Ronald Blum, Noah Trister and Stephen Hawkins, and AP Sports Writers Dave Campbell, Alanis Thames and Ryan Kryska contributed to this report.
