Bottoms up! Some MLB teams extend beer sales to 8th inning

Thanks to pitch clock, action is moving much faster at Major League Baseball games.

It also means a little less time for fans to enjoy a frosty ult beverage.

To combat that time crunch, at least four teams — Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers — have extended alcohol sales through eighth inning this season. Ors, like Miami Marlins and New York Mets, still have seventh-inning cutoffs, but haven't ruled out changes.

“Totally makes sense to me,” said Tom Lienhardt, who was sipping on a beer Tuesday night before Brewers-Diamondbacks game at Chase Field. “Since games are shorter, you’ve got to just.”

Teams have historically stopped selling alcohol after seventh. At least one team, Baltimore Orioles, alrey sold alcohol through eighth inning, or until 3 1/2 hours after first pitch, whichever came first.

MLB games have been considerably shorter this season, largely thanks to a series of rule changes, particularly new pitch clock. Through first 1 1/2 weeks of season, average game time was down 31 minutes , on track to be sport’s lowest since 1984.

minor leagues played with pitch clock last season. At least one minor league general manager — Kevin Mahoney of Class A Brooklyn Cyclones — said re was no dropoff in concession sales even with shorter games. Still, some big league teams have felt need to make justments.

Rangers allowed some alcohol sales in eighth inning last season, but have me that option more widely available in 2023. team said move to offer in-seat service to everyone — fans can order on ir phones — was done partly in reaction to pitch clock and potential of shorter game times so fans would not have to miss extended action waiting in lines at concession stands.

Brewers President of business operations Rick Schlesinger confirmed to MLB.com that ir team's move to extend alcohol sales through eighth was an experiment.

“If it turns out that this is causing an issue or we feel that it might cause an issue, n we’ll revert to what we have done previously,” Schlesinger said.

MLB says it does not regulate when teams sell alcohol. Most franchises have used seventh inning as a cutoff, at least partly to avoid overserving customers who could n get in ir cars and drive home.

But in reality, most teams alrey h areas around ballpark where fans could get alcohol after seventh, even if concession stands stopped serving. Many parks are connected to restaurants or have VIP areas where booze still flows.

“If it cuts off sales in seventh inning, eighth inning or ninth inning, that really doesn’t affect our stance because regardless, we just don’t want people to drink alcohol and n drive home from game,” said Erin Payton, Regional Executive Director for Mors Against Drunk Driving.