Offense in Major League Baseball (MLB) has seen another dip as the latest season unfolds, with scoring opportunities becoming increasingly rare. The league’s batting average has registered at .239 during the initial week of play, a slight drop from .240 noted during the same period in 2024. Historically, batter performance tends to improve as temperatures rise across the country. However, last year witnessed only a marginal increase, culminating in an average of .243, ranking it among the eight lowest years since professional baseball leagues commenced in 1871. This year’s average hovers close to the historically low .237 documented in 1968’s “Year of the Pitcher.”
Pitchers appear to have the upper hand in the ongoing struggle between batters and pitchers, particularly in this era dominated by analytics, despite advancements in batting strategies such as the torpedo bat. Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette remarked on the dynamic, stating that pitchers are significantly informed by data, allowing them to strategize more effectively. “They dictate the game. They have the ball first,” Bichette noted.
However, there was a noticeable upswing in offensive performance, with an increase from 8.3 runs per game and a .231 average in late March to 9.3 runs and a .243 average by the subsequent Sunday. While left-handed batters have improved slightly to a .247 average from .241, right-handed hitters have seen a decline to .232 from .239. Meanwhile, home runs have increased, with home run balls comprising 4.5% of plays, up from 4.0%.
Stolen bases have become more prevalent, with teams averaging 1.7 steals per game and achieving a 79.3% success rate, up from a 1.3 average and 76.4% success rate last year. As pitchers continue to fortify their arms, the average velocity of a four-seam fastball is currently at 94.1 mph, a climb from last year’s comparable period of 93.9 mph, with the previous season concluding at a record 94.3 mph. A comparison shows a marked increase from 91.9 mph when the MLB began monitoring these statistics.
Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton reflected on his experiences since entering the league in 2010, observing that what once was a challenge from singular high-speed pitchers per division has now evolved to having multiple high-velocity throwers on each team. Similarly, Arizona’s manager Torey Lovullo remembers a time when 90 mph was a key benchmark for bullpen velocity, a figure now outperformed by most at 95 mph or more.
In the pitch clock’s third year, the average duration of nine-inning games has decreased slightly to 2 hours, 37 minutes from last year’s start of 2:39. Last year achieved an average of 2:36, the shortest since 1984. Reported violations of the pitch clock have decreased to 0.22 per game, with offenses committed 31 times compared to 54 in the previous corresponding period. Out of the reported offenses, the Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants led in violations, while eleven teams maintained a perfect record of compliance.
Attendance figures reveal a slight decline, averaging 29,909 attendees — a 0.15% decrease from 29,955 last year. The dip in crowd numbers has been attributed to adverse weather conditions, including cold and rain, across various MLB cities.