Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Matt Strahm took issue with teams amending their alcohol sale policies in response to shorter game times this season.

Major League Baseball does not regulate when teams can sell alcohol at games, however individual baseball teams traditionally have halted the purchase of beer by fans following the seventh inning.

“The reason we stopped (selling alcohol in) the seventh before was to give our fans time to sober up and drive home safe, correct?” the 31-year-old Strahm said Thursday on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “So now with a faster-paced 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?

“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.”

A pitch clock is one of the reasons why baseball games have been considerably shorter this season. As a means to deal with the time crunch, the Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers have extended alcohol sales through the eighth inning.

“I’m not surprised. When you mess with billionaires’ dollars, to find a way to make their dollars back,” Strahm said. “My thing is, when you’re looking at the safety of your fans, that’s probably not the smartest decision to extend it into the eighth. And again, just being a common sense thinker, I think as a fan of the game, and just looking out for people, it would make more sense to stop the sales in the sixth.”

–Field Level Media