MLB batting average down 7 pct. points to .242 in 1st 2 weeks, game time up 2 minutes to 2:39

The major league batting average dropped seven percentage points to .242 in the first two weeks of the season, while the average time of a nine-inning game rose two minutes to 2:39 in the second season of the pitch clock. Major League Baseball implemented restrictions on defensive shifts last year, when the batting average rose to .249 in the first 14 days from .230 the comparable period in 2022 and .235 in 2021. “No question it’s getting harder to hit,'" Kansas City outfielder Hunter Renfroe said Friday.