How are the Atlanta Braves doing with length and pace of game?

Pace of Game

But there are some tangible reasons Atlanta is playing among the quickest games in MLB this year. And for that, we turn to Pace.

Pace is a metric we get from the Pitchf/x cameras installed in every major-league park. For all the complicated numbers and equations that have entered baseball the last decade or so, Pace is pretty simple. Cameras track the seconds in between pitches for hitters and pitchers, calculates the average which then becomes that players Pace.

Things like pick-off attempts and mound visits are excluded to get a more accurate number but there are, of course, seconds that happen between pitches that aren’t directly related to how fast or slow a player is. Sometimes the pitcher and catcher can’t get on the same page, sometimes the batter gets something in his eye or an infielder goes to the mound to have word.

The point is, again, it’s best to view this data as accurate estimates of pace instead of an exact measurement.

With the quick definition and qualifier out of the way, let’s see how the Braves are doing. All Pace data comes from Fangraphs.

To set the baseline, the 2017 MLB average Pace is 23.7 seconds.

Here’s the breakdown of the Braves hitters:

The big takeaway here is … there no real takeaway. As a group, they’re at 23.8 seconds, right in line with the league. 7 players above league average, 7 players below.

I did laugh when I saw Bonifacio’s number. Emilio combines sucking at baseball with doing it slowly which is unfortunate for everyone but other than that, there isn’t much of interest here.

So this isn’t our answer.

Let’s look at the pitchers. Here’s their breakdown:

Now we’re getting somewhere. Braves pitching staff, collectively, have a Pace of 22.4 seconds. Almost a 1.5 second/pitch faster than league average.

One of the driving forces behind this, as you can see, is R.A. Dickey. Dickey has been doing this for years and is known around the league as one of the fastest workers on the mound.

Fans who watch Braves games regularly won’t be surprised to see Foltynewicz’s name where it is either as he often gets in rapid fire mode. So much so, in fact, that the team has talked to him about slowing down a bit, especially when things aren’t going his way.

Remember, Pace has no correlation to production or value. Some guys do better working fast. Some better going slow.