MLB’s Got 99 Problems But a Pitch (Clock) Ain’t One

On August 19^th I took the long voyage out to Coney Island to watch a Brooklyn Cyclones game. It was the first time I had seen the pitch clock in person since its implementation in the Minor Leagues. I consider myself a baseball purist and have not been a fan of many of the new rules aimed at accelerating pace of play at the Major League level. This is especially true with the Manfred Runner, (the runner starting on second base in extra innings) but I understand why it was implemented. I was in favor of the universal DH in both leagues because it afforded more opportunities for players like Nelson Cruz, to prolong their careers with all 30 teams as opposed to just 15 in the American League.

I can now say that I am a big fan of the pitch clock. I did not realize how much faster the game went with it being used. It was not intrusive into the fan experience of watching the game either. The impact of it shined through the following day when I went to watch the Yankees play the Blue Jays. During an Aaron Judge at bat, I saw him taking a long time in between pitches and it got to the point where I found myself getting impatient with the length of time between each pitch. I get needing a little bit of time to collect yourself between pitches if you’re a rookie playing in your first game, and you have the yips/jitters. But a consummate and well-prepared player, such as Judge, does not need to take all that time. Conversely, a Major League pitcher does not need so much time to throw pitches either. If you want to throw hitters off, then experiment with variations of your mechanics like Nestor Cortes or Framber Valdez.

As a fan of baseball and someone who wants to see its popularity soar once again, I am all in on the pitch clock. It can work as an advantage or disadvantage and adds more suspense and strategy to the game. If a pitcher and catcher are not in sync and the clock runs out, a ball is automatically called. If they are not effectively communicating, the hitter will not face the best pitches and could benefit from their mistakes. Having the pitch clock puts more emphasis on the preparedness of pitchers and how they communicate with catchers. The result is a more interesting game because it ensures that fans will see the most competitive brand of baseball possible. Isn’t that what every fan wants?

While I like the pitch clock, I think there are kinks to be worked out before the Players Association will agree to institute it. The pick off move rule per plate appearance should be increased to 3 or 4 as opposed to two as it is now. If a pitcher cannot get a guy out with that many attempts there should most certainly be a limit. A team should do their due diligence on the scouting report and know if the runner is going to run or not along with how often he gets thrown out. With the number of statistics and analytics that permeate the game today there is no reason to throw over an excessive number of times. On a personal note, if I heard less booing because of pick off attempts, something I do not understand as it is the pitcher trying to be competitive, I would be happy. 

A question that arises around this as well is if a catcher would be able to check on a runner after the pitch is thrown and whether that would count as a pickoff attempt? If this does not count this could be a way to get around the rule. I imagine that the league would have a way to remedy should this become a prevalent issue.