Major League Baseball has seen numerous changes in recent years that lots of fans, and even players, have had to get used to.

From pitch timers to larger bases,from limiting mound visits to PitchCom and potentially automated balls and strikes,the game is a different product than it was even in pre-pandemic days.

Perhaps the biggest change, though, is that the average length of a game has been shortened by more than a half hour.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

That stat reached its peak when the average nine-inning game lasted three hours, 10 minutes. MLB implemented a pitch timer in 2023, and that number was shortened to 2:39. the year after, another three minutes were saved, but two of those have been given back.

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (50) delivers a pitch during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 14, 2022, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. (Rick Ulreich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Adam Wainwright Reflects on the Evolution of Pitching: From instinct to Analytics

Adam Wainwright, a veteran pitcher who spent 17 seasons with the St.louis Cardinals, recently shared his thoughts on how the game of baseball, particularly pitching, has changed over the course of his career. Speaking on the “Foul Territory” podcast, Wainwright highlighted the shift from relying on instinct and in-game adjustments to the increasing influence of analytics.

Wainwright reminisced about a time when pitchers had more autonomy on the mound, able to analyze a hitter’s tendencies and adjust their approach accordingly. “I miss the days when you could really think through the order, have time to go, ‘You know what? All right, the first time, I got him out with fastballs in, the next time I got him out with changeups down and in, now away should be wide open. But I see him stepping towards the plate. Maybe he’s expecting something. Maybe I’ll jam him.’ I miss that ability,as when you’re on the mound,and you get the ball back,and you look at the catcher,you got eight seconds by that time. So it’s like, ‘No, no, no, oh I gotta go.’ I’m a thinking man’s pitcher, I love the thinking side of it.I miss that part of it.”

He acknowledged the benefits of the influx of data,stating,”And in a lot of ways,that was good. There is so much facts out there that a pitcher needs. There’s a happy medium there where analytics and old-school meet that’s probably the perfect sweet spot.” Wainwright specifically praised tools like slow-motion cameras that provide visual feedback on pitch mechanics. “I have appreciated the slow-mo camera that shows you exactly why the spin was better on this certain pitch. I appreciate that and the ability to go back and say ‘OK,I’ve got to make sure my hand is at this angle through the throwing motion.’ Or he doesn’t hit it, why doesn’t he hit it? The numbers say this is why he doesn’t hit it. OK, maybe I should do more of that. So those things are really cool.”

However, Wainwright also cautioned against over-reliance on analytics, sharing an anecdote about a fortunate outcome against Freddie Freeman. “I got him out on a terrible backup cutter that I was trying to jam up under his hands. I threw it up and away, and he popped it up to second base. And so, analytics came back and said, ‘Look, if you back that cutter up and away again, analytical side is saying that’s a pretty good pitch for you.’ And that’s just not something that a pitcher is going to try to replicate. If I threw it to him again, he’d hit it 450 feet,” Wainwright explained.