Pitch clock injury ends spring game between Braves and Red

MLB makes small changes to pitch clock rules, memo says – ESPN

Jeff PassanESPN11:55 am ET4 minute read

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Major League Baseball is making minor changes to its new pitch clock rules but will not change key parts of the mandates, which cut seasons by 25 minutes this spring, according to a memo obtained by ESPN.

The document — the fifth of the “clarification memos” sent out by the league this spring — was distributed Wednesday after players on the MLB Players Association-MLB joint competition committee requested various changes earlier in the week.

MLB, in control of the rules on the field, will continue with the pitch clock parameters players have been using all spring: 15 seconds with empty bases and 20 seconds with runners on base, plus the Hitter who must be “alert” in the batter’s box with 8 seconds remaining.

“On the one hand, we’re prepared to make adjustments based on input,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday. “On the other hand, we want to give him an opportunity to see exactly how it’s playing out in a few regular-season games over an adjustment period before we make any significant changes.”

Pitch clock violations have fallen precipitously in the first month of spring training, according to the memo, falling from 2.03 per game in week one to 1.03 this week, in line with the reduction in minor league testing last season . The average spring training game time has dropped from 3 hours, 1 minute to 2 hours, 36 minutes, the memo said.

The clarification memos have addressed more obscure issues and opportunities for attempts to circumvent the rules. The key piece of the memo distributed on Wednesday was the league changing replay review rules on potential infield shift ban violations. With the possibility of teams regularly issuing challenges after outs in hopes that one of the four infielders was positioned with their feet on the outfield grass – which would negate the out and return the batter to the plate – the batted memo said so only the positioning of the defender who fielded them could be questioned.

Other topics addressed are:

• In the event of a malfunction in the PitchCom units that allow pitchers and catchers to communicate electronically, players must immediately notify the umpires, who can provide time and stop the ticking clock. PitchCom has become an indispensable tool for gamers since its launch last year. Perhaps as early as this week, sources say, the league is set to approve its use by pitchers who could use it to name their own games.

• New standards are being enforced for bat-boys and bat-girls, whose ability to quickly retrieve gear will help efforts to speed up the game, according to the memo. The league will assess the performances of Bat Boys and Bat Girls and could ask teams to replace them if their performance is seen as inferior.

• For brushback pitches and ‘big hits’ – where either equipment slips or a player lands sprawled on the floor – referees delay the start of the clock and have an opportunity to wave off the timer if the clockmaker starts it early.

• In situations where pitchers find themselves outside the mound—whether to cover first base or throw to home or third base in foul territory—the 30-second timer between batters is delayed. It begins again when the pitcher who makes a play first is back on the infield turf and a backing play is in fair territory.

• Clarification for catchers who end an innings on base or at-bat. Umpires may turn off the 2-minute, 30-second clock between innings at the 30-second mark if the catcher has made “reasonable effort” to meet the timer. When it reaches that point, a catcher may receive a warm-up pitch from the pitcher and make a throw to second base to ensure he too has warmed up his arm.

• Require batsmen to restart the clock when they call a time-out. Hitters can call the time once in an at-bat, and earlier the clock started at 15 or 20 when players stepped into the batter’s box and were alert, resulting in pitchers potentially holding the ball for an extended period of time. Under the new guidelines, a player, regardless of where he is standing, must indicate to a referee that he is ready to resume play, after which the referee will tell the operator to wind the clock.