Phillies pitcher calls out MLB teams over new beer policy

Apr 4, 2023; Bronx, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Matt Strahm (25) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

One MLB pitcher is taking issue with the new beer policy from some teams.

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Matt Strahm was a guest on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast for an episode that was released on Thursday. In the episode, Strahm talked about multiple topics. He even brought up a questionable change made by some teams.

The implementation of the pitch clock has resulted in the time of games being reduced by around 25 minutes on average, which was the objective. But one problem for teams is that the reduced length in game times has resulted in a reduction of beer sales.

Four teams have now extended the cutoff time for when beers can be sold from after the seventh inning to the eighth inning to counter the effects of the faster game.

Strahm thinks that is the exact opposite of what teams should be doing.

“The reason we stopped hitting the seventh before was to give our fans time to sober up and drive home safe, correct? So now with a faster pace game, and me just being a man of common sense, if the game is going to finish quicker, would we not move the beer sales back to the sixth inning to give our fans time to sober up,” he explained. “Instead, we’re going to the eighth, and now you’re putting our fans and our family at risk driving home with people who have just drank beers 22 minutes ago.”

His point is valid. The cutoff time has been in place to allow fans time to get sober before getting into their cars to drive home. Pushing back the beer-drinking cutoff time runs counter to that logic. But as Strahm noted, MLB teams do not want to lose revenue and will do what they can to recover it.

Maybe Strahm’s comments will lead some teams to rethink things.