New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer has theorized that MLB’s new pitch clock would allow the pace of games to be dictated from the mound, but one umpire said he was too fast on Friday even for the pitch timer.
Scherzer tested the boundaries of the novel pace-of-play rules during his second spring training start, trying several unusual tactics to get the Washington Nationals’ hitters off their game.
At one point, he started throwing a pitch to Victor Robles the moment plate umpire Jeremy Riggs reset the clock and Riggs called him for a balk.
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“He calls time, I come set, I get the green light,” Scherzer said. “I thought that was a clean pitch. He said no. We have to figure out where the limit is.”
The clock has left pitchers and hitters learning a whole new pace to the game this spring. Players have 30 seconds to resume play between batters. Between pitches, pitchers have 15 seconds to deliver the ball with nobody on and 20 seconds if there is a baserunner.
Batters must be in the box and alert to the pitcher with at least 8 seconds on the clock, and they only get one timeout per plate appearance.
Some players are adjusting and taking advantage of the rules faster than others.
New York Yankees reliever Wandy Peralta rushed through an at-bat so effectively on Thursday that he completed a three-pitch strikeout in only 20 seconds.
Scherzer experimented with a few strategies on Friday.
With two on and two strikes against Riley Adams in the third inning, Scherzer froze in the set position and let the pitch clock tick down to 7 seconds before Adams called a timeout.
On the next pitch, Scherzer was set as the 20-second clock started. Adams finally stepped into the box with the clock at 11 seconds and Scherzer immediately delivered, getting a swinging strike on a fastball.
“You can tell they were expecting me to work quick today, and you can make that work to your advantage by speeding up and slowing down the game,” Scherzer said.
Not all the experiments worked. Not only was Scherzer called for a balk, but he also had a double play overturned when umpires ruled he had narrowly let the pitch clock run out before starting his delivery.
“Max and a lot of veteran pitchers and pitchers in general are going to use this time to test some things and make some adjustments,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “Everybody up here is looking for a competitive edge — hitters, pitchers, catchers — and it’s a good time to be testing those things.”
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