Time has come for pace-quickening rules

It’s San Francisco, so it’s windy. Dust gets in the batter’s eye. He can’t see. He steps out of the box. Major League Baseball’s new pitch counter has expired, but it’s not the pitcher’s fault.

Violation? Automatic strike? You make the call, Mr. Umpire.

“The umpires are going to have to use their judgment,” said former San Francisco Giants pitcher Joe Martinez, who knows firsthand how the Oracle Park conditions can be challenging. “If they feel it’s a viable reason to wave it off and get a new clock, they’ll be able to do that. They have total discretion to stop and reset the clock.

“So if there’s a huge wind gust and dust is kicking up and getting into everyone’s eyes, yeah, that’s definitely a reason to reset the clock. But if players try to use it as an excuse, I think umpires will be less likely to grant time in those cases.”

Martinez, MLB’s vice president of on-field strategy, along with fellow executives Morgan Sword, Michael Hill and Reed MacPhail, have had a hand in educating teams — and umpires — about the new rules including the pitch counter.

Spring training exhibitions for the Giants and Oakland Athletics began this weekend, and umpires have been told not to ease into enforcing the rule changes. Be strict. Don’t be afraid to call violations. Set a precedent now for how the rules must be followed.

“There is going to be an adjustment period,” said Sword, executive VP of baseball operations. “We have instructed our umpires and FTCs (fielding time coordinators) that we are full go on Day 1 of spring training. They’ll begin calling violations and strictly following the rules and regulations we set forward. As a result, we expect to see a lot of violations in the early part of spring training.”

The new world order calls for a ban on shifts, limited pickoff attempts and bigger bases, but the clock — 15 seconds for the pitcher to throw the ball with nobody on base, 20 seconds with baserunners — is the most significant change in a sport that has been played at its own pace for more than a century.

Like it or not, it’s here and won’t be ignored by umpires, who will have final say on all new rules with the ultimate authority in the hands of the plate umpire.

It’s a lot to put on the fourman crew, but MLB is implementing more technology to make it easier to realize when the clock strikes zero. Umpires will wear a watch-like device on their wrist (or forearm or ankle) that will buzz once the clock expires. That way, they won’t need to keep an eye on any of the new clocks behind the plate and beyond the outfield.

The device is called ClockCom, provided by the same company that brought us PitchCom last season, the device catchers wear to relay signs to pitchers. The plate ump will have more gadgetry, including a Riedel belt pack along with an ear piece and microphone that was used last season when he went on the PA system to reveal replay review decisions.

Now, it will allow for threeway communication among the ump, the clock operator and — if necessary — the replay operations center (ROC). Yes, teams can ask to review whether infielders are illegally shifting.

All rules were experimented with last season in the minors, and an average of 1.73 violations per game (both teams) were assessed in the second week, according to MLB. It was down to 0.41 in the 24th week.

According to an MLB survey, 90% of minor-leaguers adjusted to the new rules within a month.

“We expect similar results at the big-league level,” Sword said. “One advantage we’re going to have this season is these rules were sealed and delivered in September.”

True, but big-leaguers have stuck with their routines throughout their careers, and it’s not always a quick process to break from those routines.

“If 8,000-plus minor-league games showed us anything,” said Martinez, referring to MLB’s experiment, “it’s that players can make the adjustment effectively and play the game the same way. I don’t want to make it sound like it’s the easiest thing in the world, but I have total confidence they’ll be able to do it, easier than I think what people expect.”

Once the pitcher receives the ball, the pitch timer will start — unless a fielder still is returning from his position after pursuing a foul ball — and it will end when the pitcher’s delivery starts.

The hitter and catcher are on the clock, too. The hitter must be “alert to the pitcher” (both feet in the batter’s box with eyes toward the pitcher) with at least eight seconds on the timer, and the catcher must be in the catcher’s box with at least nine seconds remaining.

If the pitcher or catcher violates the rule, it’s a ball. If the batter is in violation, it’s a strike.

Here’s the thing. An ump can grant additional time for “special circumstances.” We know how batters like to adjust their batting gloves, tuck in their jersey and take extra practice swings, all stalling devices that will be closely monitored.

If it’s not an injury, beware. Ditto for pitchers, who have their own slow-down tendencies and might try to tie their shoes, wipe mud from their cleats or claim their PitchCom device is out of whack to reset the clock and delay the pace.

“The umpires have a pretty good feel for that stuff, and I think it becomes pretty obvious if it’s intentional,” Martinez said. “Now, will a pitcher once in a while say, ‘Hey I need a new ball’? Sure, then it’ll reset. But remember, it has to be early in the clock. If it’s late in the clock, you’re still going to get penalized.”

Constant pickoff tries aren’t permitted, either, because a pitcher is allotted just two disengagements (pickoff attempt or step-off ), and if he doesn’t catch the runner on a third attempt, it’s a balk.

MLB wants to quicken the pace and bring more action and offense back, suggesting an “ideal” time for a game (based on fan research) is two hours and 30 minutes. The league believes its timers will move things along at a pleasing pace.

The average length of MLB games in 2021 was 3:11, and in 2022, with the addition of PitchCom, it dipped to 3:07. With the new rules in the minors last season, the average time of game dropped 25 minutes compared with 2021.

Big-league game times might not see such drastic change, especially with longer commercial windows, but a significant difference is expected. However much the wind blows.