In the minor league test run, stolen base attempts went up from 2.23 per game in 2019 to 2.81 last year. It limits a tedious aspect of the game – fans sure are quick to boo pickoff attempts – and it encourages aggressive baserunning in a sport that’s increasingly defined by home runs and strikeouts. The restriction on pickoff throws serves two purposes. If the baserunner gets back safely, a balk is assessed and the runner advances. After a pitcher has used his two disengagements, he can still attempt a pickoff, but it better be successful. Pickoff attempts count toward that limit. To eliminate that loophole, pitchers are only allowed two disengagements per plate appearance. The clock would be easy to circumvent if the pitcher could simply step off the rubber or throw a pickoff to stall for time. When a batter isn’t ready in time, it’s an automatic strike. When a pitcher fails to throw a pitch in time, the penalty is an automatic ball. “I feel like when you start doing automatic strikes, automatic balls, automatic runners advancing to bases, automatic runs scoring possibly, just based off of a step off, or a pickoff, to me I think that just changes the integrity of the game,” Plawecki said. Velasquez doesn’t like the pitch clock, and his teammate, catcher Kevin Plawecki, has concerns about the punishments. “There’s tons of talent that’s spread around the league, and hitters are doing their homework just as much as we’re doing ours, but I think it takes a little bit more time to kind of strategize and find ways to incorporate those things.” I think that’s the unique thing about baseball nowadays,” Pittsburgh right-hander Vince Velasquez said. “In this game, it’s all about strategizing and really finding ways to get guys out. Still, there’s a difference between compliant minor leaguers and big league veterans who are used to a certain routine – and the amount of information available to major leaguers can make pitcher-batter showdowns a mental battle in addition to a physical one. If big leaguers get used to it that quickly, they should be ready around the end of spring training.

When surveyed, about 90% of both pitchers and position players said they adjusted to the pitch timer within about a month. By week 24, that figure was down to 0.41. Games early in the season, in the second week, included an average of 1.73 violations.

“What was really removed from the game was that dead time – pitchers walking around the mound, batters fixing their batting gloves, taking extra pitches in the bullpen, walking in from there.” “The games were shortened, but not at the expense of game play,” said Joe Martinez, a former big league pitcher who is now MLB’s vice president for on-field strategy. And other stats like runs per game, batting average and the rate of hit batters were essentially unchanged. The goal is indeed to speed up play, specifically by limiting the parts of the game fans find particularly tedious.Īccording to Major League Baseball, the pitch timer reduced nine-inning games by a whopping 25 minutes last year in the minors, from 3 hours, 3 minutes in 2021 to 2:38. “I kind of went through it in Double-A, so I kind of know how that works and how it can speed up the game, but I guess it takes some getting used to.” “You kind of have to shorten your routine up to the plate, while I guess cleaning out the box or talking to the umpire or the catcher,” said Atlanta outfielder Michael Harris II, last year’s National League Rookie of the Year. Batters can call time once per plate appearance, stopping the countdown. He needs to be in the box and alert to the pitcher with at least eight seconds on the clock. So efficient communication between the pitcher and catcher is important, because the clock is ticking. After a pitch, the clock starts again when the pitcher has the ball back, the catcher and batter are in the circle around home plate, and play is otherwise ready to resume. The pitcher must start his delivery before the clock expires. Between pitches, it will be 15 seconds with nobody on and 20 if there’s a baserunner. They’ll count down from 30 seconds between batters. The clocks will be positioned behind the plate and beyond the outfield, where pitchers and hitters can easily see them. Of all of baseball’s tweaks under Commissioner Rob Manfred, the pitch clock might be the one that affects the most players. Not everyone is as sanguine about the new timers – and whether you’re a pitcher, a catcher, a hitter or a baserunner, there’s no hiding from this rule change.

Just a timer to