Last call remains the seventh inning at PNC Park.
Despite the decision by some Major League Baseball teams to shift beer sales back through the eighth inning, the Pirates do not intend on following suit.
“Our policy has not changed,” said Brian Warecki, the team’s senior vice president for communications and broadcasting, who declined further comment.
MLB instituted several rules changes this season aimed at speeding up the pace of the game. As a result, games are being completed at a significantly faster pace than last season.
Pirates games at PNC Park, for instance, are ending about 25 minutes faster than last season’s MLB average.
And that means less time for a beer between first pitch and the end of the seventh inning.
So far, MLB games this season are ending in about 2 hours, 39 minutes. The six games played at PNC Park have ended, on average, in 2 hours, 42 minutes.
Games throughout MLB averaged three hours or longer in each of the previous 11 seasons, including 3:06 last season and a record 3:11 in 2021.
Because of the shorter games, the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins have extended beer sales through the eighth inning.
The Rangers also are offering in-seat service “so fans would not have to miss extended action waiting in lines at concession stands,” a team spokesperson told CNN.
Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger told MLB.com that alcohol sales at American Family Field have been extended on an “experimental basis.”
“From a time perspective, we’re probably looking at selling beer for the same amount of time by extending to the eighth inning that we did last year through the seventh,” Schlesinger said. “Obviously, the safety and the conduct of our fans has primacy. We’ve had no issues, but it’s a small sample size, and we’re going to continue to test it and see if it makes sense. I know a number of other teams are doing the same thing.”
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Matt Strahm disagreed with extending beer sales through the eighth inning, mentioning potential safety reasons, specifically drunken driving.
“Just using common sense, we stopped it in the seventh for the safety of fans and people getting home. It just makes no sense to me that you’re going to allow it to the eighth inning,” Strahm said on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “The reason we stopped in the seventh before was to give our fans time to sober up and drive home safe, correct?
“Now you’re putting our fans and our family at risk driving home with people who have just drank beers 22 minutes ago.”
The Pirates are on a seven-game road trip but return to PNC Park on Thursday to play the Cincinnati Reds.
Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry by email at jdipaola@triblive.com or via Twitter .