On the clock: Marlins strive to enhance ballpark experience so fans don’t balk
As rain clouds faded into the South Florida sky and the sun reemerged brighter, fans of all ages quickly entered Little Havana’s loanDepot Park Wednesday to cheer for their Miami Marlins against the Washington Nationals. There was no time to waste because games are 30 minutes shorter now on average thanks to the new pitch clock, a tool designed to make pitchers play faster and thereby speed up the entire game.
With Major League Baseball’s introduction of the pitch clock this season to shorten ballgames, checking out a Miami Marlins game at loanDepot Park is faster than ever.
To try and leverage the quicker nine innings, Marlins business officials are using technology to enable fans to spend less time on things like parking and buying food at the concession stands. People can use apps on their phones for both of those things.
Additionally, there’s enhancements for moms with babies and toddlers in tow at the ballpark and those fans who just want a break from the crowd noise. All of this is aimed at improving the “fan experience” during the shorter Marlins’ games, many of which are finishing in under two hours.
Noting that an April 4 contest against the Minnesota Twins was completed in only an hour and 57 minutes, Caroline O’Connor, Marlins president of business operations, sees the faster games as an opportunity for fans to have more urgency in managing their time inside and outside the stadium.
Margate resident Jim Dingevan, 44, is warming up to the pitch clock. “It’s a good thing when I’m watching at home,” he said. “It’s a bad thing when I’m at the stadium trying to drink.”
It didn’t seem that Dingevan, who wore the jersey of former Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer to this game,