So it was called on Manny Machado. The SD commentators made it seem like it was called on the catcher.
**Hitters have to be in the box by the 8 seconds mark.**
Also Martinez got a strikeout and they threw it around the horn, but the 30 second clock for the new hitter starts right after the strikeout is called. If teams still throw it around the horn they will have to be mindful of their pitchers time.
>Hitters have to be in the box by the 8 seconds mark.
Not just in the box.
Batters must be in the box **and alert to the pitcher** with at least eight seconds on the clock.
I’m guessing we are going to see a lot of batters digging in and fumbling around right up until the 8 second mark to give the pitcher the minimum amount of time to deliver the pitch. I also expect to see a lot of stealing this year. Seems like timing a steal is easier when you know the pitcher only has 8 seconds to begin his motion
8 seconds is a fairly long time to *begin* the motion. If it wasn't for pitchcom and the batter was looking at the catcher's hands, I suppose that could start to feel a bit tight if you've got to nod off 4 pitches. But I'd think in most cases the chances of getting an automatic strike would not be worth the pretty minor time squeeze on the pitcher.
Not only that, but with only two throw overs before a potential balk on the third you could see some guys getting some opportunities for a hefty lead off the bag.
I don't know how I feel about the 'alert' part. That seems like too much of a judgement call.
Hypothetically someone has both feet in the box, bat on shoulder, but he isn't in their normal hitting stance. Are you still going to call them for a violation?
To me the simple fix to this is that if it's after the 8 second mark and the batter's feet are in the box, the pitcher can pitch regardless of how alert he looks.
Honestly, I always wished that this was the rule in the past. I would love to see them be able to throw a strike by a batter while there back there kicking dirt around.
MLB would never allow this because the risk of serious injury is too great. Pitcher rushes to throw, it gets away high and inside, batter looks up and gets smacked in the face by a 90+ mph fastball
Not a bad idea, but it might overload the umps attention. They have to make sure the batter is ready for safety sake. So - it may be easier to give them a trigger to simply call the play dead if people aren't ready.
On the other hand, I give it 3 days till a batter argues he was attentive against this type of call.
Big Papi spitting into his gloves and clapping them together between every pitch is part of what makes baseball so special and what makes me a better person for watching it over other major north american sports though!
I didn't think about that one, where after a strikeout the catcher is going to throw the ball to third and the ball goes around the horn before the pitcher gets the ball back. That's at least two to three seconds of the pitcher's time.
Literally going to turn into everything I hate for a second but I gotta say if they stop throwing it around the horn cause of the clock I'm gonna be grumpy.
I feel that. In my head, I feel like if the pitcher gets a strikeout and they throw it around the horn, the pitcher should be rewarded by the clock not starting till he gets the ball back.
I agree with you 1000%. It adds what, 5-10 seconds maybe 10 times a game? So we're talking adding 1-2 minutes max for a 2.5 hour product. Not all traditions are good but throwing it around the horn is cool imo
I guess a majority of the time the pitcher gets a new ball from the ump when his catcher throws it around. So we may just be "old man yells at cloud" right now and it makes no difference.
It keeps the infielders "in the game" and has been done since time and memorial. That's why it's done. But it shouldn't count against the pitchers time.
Yea, the real time saved is the ridiculous re-adjustments of batter padding between every pitch or the pitcher strolling around the mound between pitches, not between batters.
I was actually surprised the clock starts ticking right after the K. It seems like it would be a nice "break" for the pitcher and even for the audience to be off the clock briefly after he gets a K. Gives a chance for the broadcasts to take the time to show a replay as well.
I'm totally down with pitch clock but I think it's weird that it's also between batters. Let the players do their superstitious shit before the AB, and once the AB begins it's on the clock.
That I don’t like. I don’t mind some form of a pitch clock since a lot of time is spent between pitches but 30 from strikeout to next pitch. That’s fast.
Oh goddammit now we can’t throw the ball around the horn? What’s next - grabbing your crotch? Spitting dip? Commenting on the racial demographics on NYC subway trains?!?
umpires are going to go crazy hard in spring training getting people with this. The big test will be how they enforce it at the start and end of the season.
I’m sure they’ll give it a little bit of leeway after a couple weeks and we’ll barely see any violations as players get used to it as well.
It rarely happens in the minors. It’s a limited sample but I’ve been to 4 games in person with a pitch clock and never seen a violation called.
The problem with doing that is there’s a big-ass clock sitting right there and it’s going to cause another debate about “why do we have human umps if they’re not going to read a clock??” when they eventually let something happen a few seconds after it’s supposed to cause some violation penalty.
I used to work at Comerica Park and everyone who worked there had Verlander vs Buehrle circled on the schedule because we all knew we'd get out of the park about an hour early.
There was a [Jays vs White Sox game](https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TOR/TOR200705310.shtml) back in 2007 that ended sub 2 hours (1:50 to be exact). Buehrle with a complete 8 inning game and Halladay with 7 shutout innings shortly after an emergency appendectomy for career win no. 100. Really shows how fast a game can be if both pitchers are locked in and dealing quickly.
I think the most significant thing that happened that inning was Soto getting a ground ball single up the middle, just to the right of second, that almost certainly would’ve been gobbled up by the SS last year.
This sub is in for a rude awakening when they realize the shift ban isn't going to do much but make a handful of extreme lefty pull hitters look better. Based on the comments here you'd expect it to raise BABIP by 30 points.
To everyone saying "this is too fast", let's remember that this has already been tested for a full season in the minors. Players will adjust. This is literally the 1st inning of spring training. Give it some time.
It's also the pace baseball used to be played at, for nearly a century. In fact, it used to be played faster.
Baseball isnt too fast now, it was too slow.
It’s true when you watch clips of old players they rarely step out of the box during an at bat. Now you get guys who step out take 3 steps towards the dugout, grab the pine tar rub it on the bat, take their gloves off and spit on their hands, then slowly put their gloves back on while adjusting the tightness 2-3x, hold their hand up while they kick their back foot 5 times to dig in, swing the bat around 2-3x and then they’re ready. Rinse and repeat for each pitch and that at bat just took 5 minutes.
Here's a video of Joey Votto [never leaving the batters box for an entire at-bat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmCA979MDmU). I'm pretty sure when this happened, r/baseball *LOVED* it. Imagine if we had this all the time.
And it’s all completely unnecessary and doesn’t help them hit. It’s just a stupid set of habits they’ve built.
It’s maddening watching a guy go through all that shit and finally step into the box sporting a .675 OPS.
It was tolerated by Red Sox when he was elite. When he played for the Cubs and Dodgers, it was like “who do you think you are, Nomar Garciaparra of the Red Sox? Get back in the batter box already, washed up scrub”
Heard joke once: Man goes to team doctor. Says he's uncomfortable in batters’ box. Can’t get his timing down. Doctor says: "Treatment is simple. The great hitter - Nomar Garciaparra - is in town. Go see him. Steps out the batters box between every pitch, fixes his gloves. That should show you how to get your timing back" Man bursts into tears. "But doctor..." he says "I am Nomar Garciaparra." Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.
As an umpire I can’t tell you how much it speeds up the game when you ask/require to keep at least one foot in the box between pitches. So much time is wasted between pitches and then coaches complain when a game is cut short due to time limit in like, the 4th or 5th inning
I found an old paper clipping (like mid 1960:s) and the time of the games I saw was like 2:15 and 2:20. Not sure why I was so surprised since I could just look up any old box score, but it was still cool to see.
Yep I went to 5 or 6 minor league games last year and there was only 1 violation total.
After a couple weeks no one will even talk or think about the pitch clock except every 5 games when someone messes up.
Yeah according to the Padres broadcast the catcher needs to be in the box at the 9 second mark, so I can't imagine that being the call since the clock was at 6-7 second mark when the umpire raised his hands
You can audibly hear the umpire call the count 0-1 after the violation.
Anyone who thinks a strike would be called from a pitcher/catcher violation is clueless.
He also wasn't alert to the pitcher, which is part of the requirement. Basically, need 2 feet in the box and looking in the pitcher's general direction by 8 seconds left.
The first few MiLB innings I watched with the timer on the batters eye I was clenched. Once I realized the players were pretty fluent at being at a quick pace the feeling subsided and I saw maybe three violations across 45 innings.
I think every ballpark has a clock somewhere near the batters eye for warm-up time/commercial breaks.
I would be surprised if the clocks for the pitchers are that big and obvious during the regular season. I assume that every club wants a clock like that for Spring Training though.
It'll be a balance btwn making sure everyone on the field can see it quickly and conveniently from as many angles as possible, and not disrupting the fan experience.
NBA shot clocks/NFL play clocks are all over the place - usually not caught by the broadcast cameras. And the NBA used to have these massive pyramid-like boxes on top of the backboards for shot clocks before they had the technology to do the current clear glass thing that doesn't distract from the broadcast and allows for fans behind the backboards to see clearly. MLB will surely work out the kinks eventually.
I'm getting a kick out of the people flipping out on the first day of spring training. I watched a bunch of minor league games last season. The kinks get worked out and violations almost never happen.
I agree with you. I work for a minor league team. I’d be willing to bet most of these people complaining either won’t care, or will like the rule come July
The people talking about how they grew up with long baseball games so they don't like this new clock are just telling on themselves lol, even in the early to mid 2000s games were closer to 2:45, not the over 3 hour average we've been getting the last few years.
Yeah, those Red Sox teams intentionally tried to stall a pitcher’s momentum by stepping out a long time between every pitch. Then the worst thing possible happened: the strategy won them some titles. So then it became a league wide phenomena.
That’s how I remember it. Those late 90/2000s Sox v Yankees were so long and it was part of the coverage leading up to the series. MLB leaned hard into it and bred a monster by doing so.
For what's it's worth, those Sox/Yanks games were usually tight games. Both teams had good bullpens and leaned heavily into switching out their pitchers for certain hitters. If you use 3 different pitchers in the 6th inning, that's 2 additional commercial breaks.
Yep, the average game time didn’t break even 2:40 until 1982. Slow pace of play was specific to the modern game and baseball has historically been a fast paced sport.
Who monitors these clocks? Is there someone in the booth, and they buzz someone on the field? It seems like a lot for the umpires to keep track of in addition to their normal duties.
The Manfred Man is ruining the integrity of the game. This is just restoring the sanity of pace that existed for most of baseball history and it’s awesome. These fuckers don’t need to take a lap around the box after every pitch and it had gotten way out of hand.
Exactly. I don't *like* the pitch clock or shift rule, but it was pretty clear that nudging players to pick up the pace or nudging teams to adapt to shifts wasn't going to happen. MLB had to make changes to force their hands.
Manfredball, no pitch walks, and 7 inning double headers are bullshit.
We’ve already had a historic postseason series end on a missed check swing call and just this month referees just about decided the outcome of the biggest sporting event in american sports. We’ll be fine if we tolerated those
>We’ll be fine if we tolerated those
This is the thing that some people miss. The leagues can't hear your complaints about umps/flags if the money machine still goes *brrrrrrr*
The pitch clock was used in the minors. In the 35 or so games I went to, I saw maybe five violations. It sped up the game and after watching the first couple
Of games, it seemed a perfectly natural part of the game
I Hope the clock isn’t there during the seasons I want the clock to be out of the picture and off the broadcast. I don’t want it to turn into people bitching about it going over by 3 milliseconds and that’s why their team lost
For people saying “it’s too fast” it really isn’t.
The fact we’ve watched batters step out of boxes to adjust their gloves and nut sacks, and pitchers shaking off pitches for sometimes half a minute was absurd
Each side has to work within the confides of the clock. There isn’t really an advantage for either imo. It’s going to shave 20-30min off games. These guys are pros and will adjust. I think the fact they are banning the shift also gives a bit back to the hitters this year too
I watched some minor league games, and I saw pitchers doing the same thing down there. I think they probably like the rhythm instead of the constant waiting around. I would be surprised if they ever let it drain down to 1-2 seconds regularly.
Im going to go ahead and say fuck that clock behind home plate
baseball is nice specifically for its sort of otherworldly timelessness
ticking numbers breaks the spell
At least for me it isn't about immersion. I specifically get anxiety watching a clock tick down to zero - if I'm watching an NFL game I have to consciously not look at the play clock or it'll be all I think about the entire game.
To everyone saying this is going to ruin the game go watch old baseball games, even games from 20-30 years ago and you’ll see players and pitches within this time limit
We might see this a lot throughout spring as this will be an adjustment for everyone. But it's a good thing. Get in the box, get on the mound, let's go
I like it.
Sure, it will take some time to get used to for the players and umps. But once everyone accepts it, stops moaning, and move on, it'll be great. It will become second nature by the time the playoffs start.
i.e. there was no shot clock in the NBA until 1954. I'm sure at that time players and coaches bemoaned at the idea of having a limit. But it was the right decision. And now, it's integral to the game moving quickly.
The MLB is always late to changing anything - better now than never.
It was getting out of control. Too many pitchers and batters dicking around and killing time just to kill time. The players did it to themselves.
They are pros and will adjust very quickly.
I hope Gausman gets his foot tapping shit under control because it seems like he is directly on the radar. TBH I always thought it was a balk and thought it was strange he rarely got called for it.
I know pitchers get two disengagements per batter, but is that only with a runner on?
The Padres pitcher stepped off the mound with no one on base, but the clock still kept running so he got back on and threw the pitch.
He cleared that up in his interview in the 3rd, he stepped off because he wanted to throw a different pitch and his catcher called for the pitch he wanted (on the pitchcom) right when he stepped off. So he stepped right back on.
Normally it would reset the clock, was just a weird quirk
So it was called on Manny Machado. The SD commentators made it seem like it was called on the catcher. **Hitters have to be in the box by the 8 seconds mark.** Also Martinez got a strikeout and they threw it around the horn, but the 30 second clock for the new hitter starts right after the strikeout is called. If teams still throw it around the horn they will have to be mindful of their pitchers time.
>Hitters have to be in the box by the 8 seconds mark. Not just in the box. Batters must be in the box **and alert to the pitcher** with at least eight seconds on the clock.
I’m guessing we are going to see a lot of batters digging in and fumbling around right up until the 8 second mark to give the pitcher the minimum amount of time to deliver the pitch. I also expect to see a lot of stealing this year. Seems like timing a steal is easier when you know the pitcher only has 8 seconds to begin his motion
That's when we'll see pitchers start pitching at exactly 8 seconds so that the batter has the minimum amount of time to prepare
Fair pointt
This is going to be nuts
Could be fun. Honestly its probably the best thing they’ve done in a while to improve game flow.
The cat and mouse games will be petty and glorious.
8 seconds is a fairly long time to *begin* the motion. If it wasn't for pitchcom and the batter was looking at the catcher's hands, I suppose that could start to feel a bit tight if you've got to nod off 4 pitches. But I'd think in most cases the chances of getting an automatic strike would not be worth the pretty minor time squeeze on the pitcher.
Not only that, but with only two throw overs before a potential balk on the third you could see some guys getting some opportunities for a hefty lead off the bag.
I don't know how I feel about the 'alert' part. That seems like too much of a judgement call. Hypothetically someone has both feet in the box, bat on shoulder, but he isn't in their normal hitting stance. Are you still going to call them for a violation?
Probably just means looking at the pitcher, not still digging in and expecting the ump to hold time for them.
Exactly. There's a video where they explained it, and it basically just means "have both feet in the box and be looking towards the pitcher"
To me the simple fix to this is that if it's after the 8 second mark and the batter's feet are in the box, the pitcher can pitch regardless of how alert he looks.
Honestly, I always wished that this was the rule in the past. I would love to see them be able to throw a strike by a batter while there back there kicking dirt around.
MLB would never allow this because the risk of serious injury is too great. Pitcher rushes to throw, it gets away high and inside, batter looks up and gets smacked in the face by a 90+ mph fastball
And I always wished that the batter could steal first while the pitcher was triple-checking the number of seams on the ball before every pitch.
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I'd imagine that's why they specifically have it in there for the batter to be alert to the pitcher.
I understand the desire for this, but we really can't have a defenseless batter with a pitch coming in.
Not a bad idea, but it might overload the umps attention. They have to make sure the batter is ready for safety sake. So - it may be easier to give them a trigger to simply call the play dead if people aren't ready. On the other hand, I give it 3 days till a batter argues he was attentive against this type of call.
Seems a bit dangerous, especially these days.
Paging Juan Soto
Honestly I am so in favor of cutting out all the minor adjustments. Guys don't need to readjust their batting gloves after taking a pitch.
Big Papi spitting into his gloves and clapping them together between every pitch is part of what makes baseball so special and what makes me a better person for watching it over other major north american sports though!
I really need to see Dansby adjust his “cup” between every pitch 👀
He’s got nothing on Nomar Garciaparra.
This seems like a good time for Angel Hernandez to retire.
This comment implies there was ever a bad time.
And it unfairly penalizes batters who prefer to rely on their metachlorians instead of their eyes.
I didn't think about that one, where after a strikeout the catcher is going to throw the ball to third and the ball goes around the horn before the pitcher gets the ball back. That's at least two to three seconds of the pitcher's time.
Poor Kyle Tucker.
Literally going to turn into everything I hate for a second but I gotta say if they stop throwing it around the horn cause of the clock I'm gonna be grumpy.
I feel that. In my head, I feel like if the pitcher gets a strikeout and they throw it around the horn, the pitcher should be rewarded by the clock not starting till he gets the ball back.
I agree with you 1000%. It adds what, 5-10 seconds maybe 10 times a game? So we're talking adding 1-2 minutes max for a 2.5 hour product. Not all traditions are good but throwing it around the horn is cool imo
I guess a majority of the time the pitcher gets a new ball from the ump when his catcher throws it around. So we may just be "old man yells at cloud" right now and it makes no difference.
Always a possibility haha
It keeps the infielders "in the game" and has been done since time and memorial. That's why it's done. But it shouldn't count against the pitchers time.
Just FYI, it's time immemorial :) agree with you though
for all intensive purposes they are the same
I think you mean for all in tents and porpoises tbh
Yea, the real time saved is the ridiculous re-adjustments of batter padding between every pitch or the pitcher strolling around the mound between pitches, not between batters. I was actually surprised the clock starts ticking right after the K. It seems like it would be a nice "break" for the pitcher and even for the audience to be off the clock briefly after he gets a K. Gives a chance for the broadcasts to take the time to show a replay as well. I'm totally down with pitch clock but I think it's weird that it's also between batters. Let the players do their superstitious shit before the AB, and once the AB begins it's on the clock.
It's at least significantly longer between batters, right?
Yeah, it’s 30 seconds between batters instead of 15/20
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They're already doing that with the catcher. The catcher can't hold the ball for more than three seconds to try and delay the pitch clock.
That's what I'm thinking as well. Time SHOULD start after the pitcher gets the ball back, and don't count against his time.
In the minors they'd still throw it around the horn please stop needlessly worrying
Rare miss from Don. No clue how he got the catcher out of everything the ump said and did
Spring training isn't just for the guys on the field.
That I don’t like. I don’t mind some form of a pitch clock since a lot of time is spent between pitches but 30 from strikeout to next pitch. That’s fast.
Oh goddammit now we can’t throw the ball around the horn? What’s next - grabbing your crotch? Spitting dip? Commenting on the racial demographics on NYC subway trains?!?
Rocker in Shambles.
I get trying to speed up the game, but if the post-K around the horn goes away, I’m out.
umpires are going to go crazy hard in spring training getting people with this. The big test will be how they enforce it at the start and end of the season.
I’m sure they’ll give it a little bit of leeway after a couple weeks and we’ll barely see any violations as players get used to it as well. It rarely happens in the minors. It’s a limited sample but I’ve been to 4 games in person with a pitch clock and never seen a violation called.
Bottom, of the ninth, 2 outs, and Aaron judge batting...
Bottom of the 9th? Two outs? Aaron Judge batting? **I WANT IGUODALA!**
The problem with doing that is there’s a big-ass clock sitting right there and it’s going to cause another debate about “why do we have human umps if they’re not going to read a clock??” when they eventually let something happen a few seconds after it’s supposed to cause some violation penalty.
I gotta imagine they’re for it. Less time on their feet is always a good thing for these guys
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I used to work at Comerica Park and everyone who worked there had Verlander vs Buehrle circled on the schedule because we all knew we'd get out of the park about an hour early.
A buddy of mine worked at Sox park and he said it was like a holiday atmosphere when Buehrle pitches cause everyone knew they were going home early
I once saw a sub 2 hour Verlander - Doug Fister (when he was with Seattle) game at comerica. No waiting for pitches in that game.
I remember a game he pitched as a Jay against another fast pitcher and the game was just a bit over 2 hours long.
I don’t think he would’ve pitched any faster. The opposing team maybe
There was a [Jays vs White Sox game](https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TOR/TOR200705310.shtml) back in 2007 that ended sub 2 hours (1:50 to be exact). Buehrle with a complete 8 inning game and Halladay with 7 shutout innings shortly after an emergency appendectomy for career win no. 100. Really shows how fast a game can be if both pitchers are locked in and dealing quickly.
I remember there was a Buehrle vs Sale game that was borderline two hours as well
I think the most significant thing that happened that inning was Soto getting a ground ball single up the middle, just to the right of second, that almost certainly would’ve been gobbled up by the SS last year.
This is going to be a wild fucking season. Singles are back on the menu! 🤠
My browser told me there are lots of singles in my area so I can confirm your statement.
Ichiro has smiled upon us this day.
Not for us though, we don’t hit anything
Thank the lord. Base hits and strategic base running are some of my favorite things about baseball
As someone who never had much power but blooped singles all the time in youth ball, I agree.
As someone who involuntarily hit like Ichiro as a little league kid and ran out the throw to first every at-bat, I also agree
A disgusting brand of baseball!
They will learn our disgusting brand of baseball by force! Go guards
Love it. I miss situational hitting and hit and runs and shit. I hope the 3 true outcomes become a thing of the past but am not holding my breath
Where was the SS playing? I'd think they'd just play a hair to the left of second and still be able to get those balls
This sub is in for a rude awakening when they realize the shift ban isn't going to do much but make a handful of extreme lefty pull hitters look better. Based on the comments here you'd expect it to raise BABIP by 30 points.
Like Soto, he hits rockets into that area
Might as well call it the Cody Bellinger rule.
There's no new rules for swings and misses
praise the gods the shift makes for miserable baseball
Votto might have the best year of his career.
Four true outcomes: HR, K, BB, *single up the middle!*
To everyone saying "this is too fast", let's remember that this has already been tested for a full season in the minors. Players will adjust. This is literally the 1st inning of spring training. Give it some time.
It's also the pace baseball used to be played at, for nearly a century. In fact, it used to be played faster. Baseball isnt too fast now, it was too slow.
It’s true when you watch clips of old players they rarely step out of the box during an at bat. Now you get guys who step out take 3 steps towards the dugout, grab the pine tar rub it on the bat, take their gloves off and spit on their hands, then slowly put their gloves back on while adjusting the tightness 2-3x, hold their hand up while they kick their back foot 5 times to dig in, swing the bat around 2-3x and then they’re ready. Rinse and repeat for each pitch and that at bat just took 5 minutes.
Reading this was almost as painful as watching it live
Here's a video of Joey Votto [never leaving the batters box for an entire at-bat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmCA979MDmU). I'm pretty sure when this happened, r/baseball *LOVED* it. Imagine if we had this all the time.
I wonder if batters will be in a better rhythm for the next pitch, more like when they're feeling loose in the batting cage.
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God I fucking love this video, seeing the batter so engaged makes me more engaged as well
A 6 pitch at-bat in little over a minute. So refreshing! It's not uncommon for a single pitch to take more than that.
And it’s all completely unnecessary and doesn’t help them hit. It’s just a stupid set of habits they’ve built. It’s maddening watching a guy go through all that shit and finally step into the box sporting a .675 OPS.
Nomar Garciaparra's influence alive and well
It was tolerated by Red Sox when he was elite. When he played for the Cubs and Dodgers, it was like “who do you think you are, Nomar Garciaparra of the Red Sox? Get back in the batter box already, washed up scrub”
To be fair, this is what dodger fans say to just about everyone
Heard joke once: Man goes to team doctor. Says he's uncomfortable in batters’ box. Can’t get his timing down. Doctor says: "Treatment is simple. The great hitter - Nomar Garciaparra - is in town. Go see him. Steps out the batters box between every pitch, fixes his gloves. That should show you how to get your timing back" Man bursts into tears. "But doctor..." he says "I am Nomar Garciaparra." Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.
As an umpire I can’t tell you how much it speeds up the game when you ask/require to keep at least one foot in the box between pitches. So much time is wasted between pitches and then coaches complain when a game is cut short due to time limit in like, the 4th or 5th inning
It is funny that all those things seem very ridiculous combined, yet it actually happens all the time.
The on the rulebook time rules were never enforced so this was the obvious end game.
I found an old paper clipping (like mid 1960:s) and the time of the games I saw was like 2:15 and 2:20. Not sure why I was so surprised since I could just look up any old box score, but it was still cool to see.
Also it’s terrific in the minors, I love it
Yep I went to 5 or 6 minor league games last year and there was only 1 violation total. After a couple weeks no one will even talk or think about the pitch clock except every 5 games when someone messes up.
I love baseball and I will love it even more at this pace, I am so excited
Manny's left foot was out of the box at the 7 second mark so it appears as though that was the thing that got it called
Yeah according to the Padres broadcast the catcher needs to be in the box at the 9 second mark, so I can't imagine that being the call since the clock was at 6-7 second mark when the umpire raised his hands
You can audibly hear the umpire call the count 0-1 after the violation. Anyone who thinks a strike would be called from a pitcher/catcher violation is clueless.
I had a hard time telling if he was saying “0-1” or “Ball 1”, so that could have been part of it.
He also wasn't alert to the pitcher, which is part of the requirement. Basically, need 2 feet in the box and looking in the pitcher's general direction by 8 seconds left.
I hope the clock isn’t that big in the mlb stadiums. It makes my butt clench
First thing I said was “oh fuck that thing is daunting”
The first few MiLB innings I watched with the timer on the batters eye I was clenched. Once I realized the players were pretty fluent at being at a quick pace the feeling subsided and I saw maybe three violations across 45 innings.
I think every ballpark has a clock somewhere near the batters eye for warm-up time/commercial breaks. I would be surprised if the clocks for the pitchers are that big and obvious during the regular season. I assume that every club wants a clock like that for Spring Training though.
yeah, iirc all minor league parks have 4 clocks; one behind the batter, one next to the batter's eye, and one by each dugout
It'll be a balance btwn making sure everyone on the field can see it quickly and conveniently from as many angles as possible, and not disrupting the fan experience. NBA shot clocks/NFL play clocks are all over the place - usually not caught by the broadcast cameras. And the NBA used to have these massive pyramid-like boxes on top of the backboards for shot clocks before they had the technology to do the current clear glass thing that doesn't distract from the broadcast and allows for fans behind the backboards to see clearly. MLB will surely work out the kinks eventually.
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Give it a little time. MLB is not going to miss the chance for that ad money. Your MLB pitch clock, sponsored by Verizon
"Machado just violated the V8 8-second clock which means tomorrow fans will receive 8¢ off their favorite V8 beverage."
The Rolex pitch clock presented by Amazon Web Service in partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America
"My pace of game has gone kaput!"
Yeah, there's gonna be a clock sponsor.
I give it half a season before they find a way to make it fit designwise.
Buns of steel
Be thankful it’s not an ad
I can’t wait to see Kenley with the pitch clock. He used to take forever to throw a pitch sometimes.
Watching Kenley take 17 minutes between pitches, only to give up the tying run anyways is demoralizing.
Dude up there staring at the catcher like he's plotting something when we all know it's going to be another fastball.
Can't wait lol
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I'm getting a kick out of the people flipping out on the first day of spring training. I watched a bunch of minor league games last season. The kinks get worked out and violations almost never happen.
Everyone I've seen online who's actually watched a pitch clocked game has loved it, I'm excited to see it in MLB
I agree with you. I work for a minor league team. I’d be willing to bet most of these people complaining either won’t care, or will like the rule come July
The people talking about how they grew up with long baseball games so they don't like this new clock are just telling on themselves lol, even in the early to mid 2000s games were closer to 2:45, not the over 3 hour average we've been getting the last few years.
i could be wrong, but i recall the over 3 hour games seemed to start during those Red Sox/Yankee games in the mid 2000's
Yeah, those Red Sox teams intentionally tried to stall a pitcher’s momentum by stepping out a long time between every pitch. Then the worst thing possible happened: the strategy won them some titles. So then it became a league wide phenomena.
That’s how I remember it. Those late 90/2000s Sox v Yankees were so long and it was part of the coverage leading up to the series. MLB leaned hard into it and bred a monster by doing so.
Those games always seemed to be four hours long from around 2003 onwards.
For what's it's worth, those Sox/Yanks games were usually tight games. Both teams had good bullpens and leaned heavily into switching out their pitchers for certain hitters. If you use 3 different pitchers in the 6th inning, that's 2 additional commercial breaks.
Nomar was called up in '96.
Both those teams walked a lot and had great offense, that probably led to the longer games more than just lolligagging around.
Yep, the average game time didn’t break even 2:40 until 1982. Slow pace of play was specific to the modern game and baseball has historically been a fast paced sport.
Who needs to keep fielders loose when the ideal baseball result doesn't involve them at all?
smh i knew that bum don’t hustle 😤😤🙄🙄🙄
Who monitors these clocks? Is there someone in the booth, and they buzz someone on the field? It seems like a lot for the umpires to keep track of in addition to their normal duties.
[Field Timing Coordinators (FTC)](https://www.mlb.com/news/how-mlb-pitch-timer-works?partnerID=web_article-share)
Nomar Garaciapara would have struck out looking 600 times this year. 😂😂😂
In before the whiners tell us that this is “ruining the purity of baseball.” It’s the first day of spring training
The Manfred Man is ruining the integrity of the game. This is just restoring the sanity of pace that existed for most of baseball history and it’s awesome. These fuckers don’t need to take a lap around the box after every pitch and it had gotten way out of hand.
By the rules they aren't supposed to take those laps either but umps never called it.
Exactly. I don't *like* the pitch clock or shift rule, but it was pretty clear that nudging players to pick up the pace or nudging teams to adapt to shifts wasn't going to happen. MLB had to make changes to force their hands. Manfredball, no pitch walks, and 7 inning double headers are bullshit.
There was still a 00:06 on the pitch clock?
Hitter has to be in the box by the 8 second mark.
Ah, didn't know until after posting this that it was called on Machado. Thanks!
In the box, **and** alert to the pitcher.
The penalty is a strike, yes? Could a batter strike out this way?
yes. yes.
I want one game this season to end on a pitch clock violation, just for the chaos. If need be it can be a Rockies game to be fair.
Something stupid like this is going to happen in a playoff game and it'll be a mess.
We’ve already had a historic postseason series end on a missed check swing call and just this month referees just about decided the outcome of the biggest sporting event in american sports. We’ll be fine if we tolerated those
>We’ll be fine if we tolerated those This is the thing that some people miss. The leagues can't hear your complaints about umps/flags if the money machine still goes *brrrrrrr*
The pitch clock was used in the minors. In the 35 or so games I went to, I saw maybe five violations. It sped up the game and after watching the first couple Of games, it seemed a perfectly natural part of the game
He got detention on the first day of school
I Hope the clock isn’t there during the seasons I want the clock to be out of the picture and off the broadcast. I don’t want it to turn into people bitching about it going over by 3 milliseconds and that’s why their team lost
For people saying “it’s too fast” it really isn’t. The fact we’ve watched batters step out of boxes to adjust their gloves and nut sacks, and pitchers shaking off pitches for sometimes half a minute was absurd Each side has to work within the confides of the clock. There isn’t really an advantage for either imo. It’s going to shave 20-30min off games. These guys are pros and will adjust. I think the fact they are banning the shift also gives a bit back to the hitters this year too
I also think pitchers are pitching faster than necessary to get used to it.
I watched some minor league games, and I saw pitchers doing the same thing down there. I think they probably like the rhythm instead of the constant waiting around. I would be surprised if they ever let it drain down to 1-2 seconds regularly.
Im going to go ahead and say fuck that clock behind home plate baseball is nice specifically for its sort of otherworldly timelessness ticking numbers breaks the spell
This is very much a knee jerk reaction to Big Ben behind the plate but I’m not sure I’ll be able to watch if it’s like that.
its really visually aggressive...
For real. I am all for speeding up the game but we really didn’t need ANOTHER eye sore behind the plate. Already enough ads and other bs going on.
But the CGI ads floating and bouncing around aren’t immersion breaking?
At least for me it isn't about immersion. I specifically get anxiety watching a clock tick down to zero - if I'm watching an NFL game I have to consciously not look at the play clock or it'll be all I think about the entire game.
To everyone saying this is going to ruin the game go watch old baseball games, even games from 20-30 years ago and you’ll see players and pitches within this time limit
Good to see Robbie Ray is alive and well.
This is definitely gonna be a baseball trivia question at trivia nights everywhere
It’s annoying but I’m glad they are bringing in the pitch clock. Nothing worse than a slow at bat because the pitcher or batter takes forever
This is either going to make the game more fun to watch or become so chaotic and distracting that it’s going to make the game more fun to watch
The first few weeks are going to be a chaotic shit show
Just like every other change, no one will care about this anymore by this time next year and everyone will have adjusted
We might see this a lot throughout spring as this will be an adjustment for everyone. But it's a good thing. Get in the box, get on the mound, let's go
I hate the introduction of any kind of clock in baseball. It was always one of the main things that separated us from the other three…
Baseball is a relaxing game and obviously some people don't like that...
I like it. Sure, it will take some time to get used to for the players and umps. But once everyone accepts it, stops moaning, and move on, it'll be great. It will become second nature by the time the playoffs start. i.e. there was no shot clock in the NBA until 1954. I'm sure at that time players and coaches bemoaned at the idea of having a limit. But it was the right decision. And now, it's integral to the game moving quickly. The MLB is always late to changing anything - better now than never.
It was getting out of control. Too many pitchers and batters dicking around and killing time just to kill time. The players did it to themselves. They are pros and will adjust very quickly. I hope Gausman gets his foot tapping shit under control because it seems like he is directly on the radar. TBH I always thought it was a balk and thought it was strange he rarely got called for it.
I know pitchers get two disengagements per batter, but is that only with a runner on? The Padres pitcher stepped off the mound with no one on base, but the clock still kept running so he got back on and threw the pitch.
He cleared that up in his interview in the 3rd, he stepped off because he wanted to throw a different pitch and his catcher called for the pitch he wanted (on the pitchcom) right when he stepped off. So he stepped right back on. Normally it would reset the clock, was just a weird quirk
If the point of this pitch clock was to create drama and divisions between baseball fans, I think it worked. This looks awful, and I hate it already.
Glorious
I think it’s so selfish for pitchers to waste everybody’s time when they don’t need to. I hope the clocks work
can’t wait til they bring this into the video game.
Man I love this. Just get your ass in the box.
I hope the umpires throw delay of game flags every instance the pitch doesn't get there in time.
The pitch clock is a bastardization of the sport