Chicago Cubs Opening Day sped by with new MLB rules in play

Opening Day 2023 at Wrigley Field came and went in the blink of an eye. The Chicago Cubs' 4-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers started at 1:20 and was done before 4:00 PM local time, a total of 2 hours and 21 minutes.

The pitch clock has been a massive topic of conversation since the rules were officially implemented by Major League Baseball. Fans expressed mixed views in Spring Training, some felt it was not natural to have a clock in baseball while others enjoyed the pace and speed of the game. Rule violations against certain pitchers and hitters in Spring Training made people wonder how it would also impact said players. It was not an insignificant change

Cubs starter Marcus Stroman did commit a pitch-clock violation, costing him a ball against Christian Yelich, but no harm came of it. It was the first pitch-clock violation in the regular season in MLB history. Everything else went just fine for both teams regarding clock violations.

The clock was not the sole reason the game went fast, the play itself had a hand in that. Stroman and the Cubs bullpen shut down the Brewers, only surrendering four hits and zero runs. All Cubs' runs were scored in the third inning, and they only put on a handful of baserunners the rest of the game. With that said, the clock made a noticeable impact. Like it or not, it sped by very quickly.

It seems reasonable to think that fans for the most part will get used to the new pace, and it will just come as natural to watch the games without thinking about it too much. Fans will never fully agree on the matter, but it sparks some good conversation.