MLB is enforcing a new rule starting from the 2023 season.
Well, it’s a series of rules, but one in particular has brought in a lot of controversy: the pitch clock.
Hurlers will only have 15 seconds between pitches with the bases empty, and 20 with men on base.
This is 15/20 seconds to start the new delivery.
If they don’t meet this time, a ball will be added to the count.
Hitters, on the other hand, will have until the eight-second mark to be ready for the next pitch.
If they aren’t, a strike will be added to the count.
In the first few games of spring training, there have been balls and strikes added left and right.
It means players are still adjusting to the new rule after a lifetime of taking their time.
There are a few learning curves about the rule, though.
Baltimore Orioles slugger Anthony Santander felt he was wronged even though he was following the rules.
“Anthony Santander, who was issued a strike due to a clock violation disagreed with the call. Said he was ready to hit with 9 seconds to go (the rule calls to be ready at 8): ‘I looked straight into the pitcher….I told the ump next time we might have to go to the video,'” MLB insider Jesse Rogers tweeted.
Anthony Santander, who was issued a strike due to a clock violation disagreed with the call. Said he was ready to hit with 9 seconds to go (the rule calls to be ready at 8): "I looked straight into the pitcher….I told the ump next time we might have to go to the video."
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) February 25, 2023
This will surely not be the first time in which a player says they were ready before their allotted time.
Umpires make mistakes, too, and there is a possibility they call the pitch clock violation before it actually happens.
It’s not just the pitchers and batters as the ones who will need to make adjustments.
Everybody does, even fans.
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