Cal Conley of the Atlanta Braves thought he had just won the game with two leadoff, full-count, full-bases runs on Saturday. He took a few steps toward first base, bat still in hand, when umpire John Lipka jumped in from behind the plate and signaled for a third strike.
game over. conley, Apparently he thinks he’s got four autoballs, I do not believe that. He pointed to himself and said, “Me?” He didn’t believe his teammates either. The fans booed.
Welcome to the year 2023, where the new rules of baseball are designed to improve the pace of play They quickly get ahead of everyone, especially the players.
The most dramatic moment in the new stadium clock era has arrived on the first full day of the Spring Games, and in the most exciting scenario. Conley, who was facing reliever Robert Kwiatkowski of the Boston Red Sox, was not in the penalty area and was on guard for the pitcher as the clock ticked under eight seconds.
The penalty kick is an automatic kick, which led to the game in North Port, Florida, ending in a 6-6 tie. Kwiatkowski got the strikeout after only hitting two true hits.
It was a much more dramatic moment than when it was San Diego Padres player Mane Machado Friday became the first player to violate the court clock when he was called for an automatic hit in the bottom of the first inning against Seattle because he was not in the penalty area in time.
The Playground Clock is one of the new rules designed to speed up the pace of play. Players will have 30 seconds to resume play between batters. Between pitches, pitchers have 15 seconds with no one running and 20 seconds if there is a baserunner. The thrower must start his hand before the clock is up. After the pitch, the clock starts again when the pitcher has recovered the ball, the catcher and batter are in the circle around home plate, and play is ready to resume.
More sign theft?
Could the pitch clock lead to more sign theft on the field, in turn forcing managers to dispense with the third base coach as a go-between?
Veteran directors Dusty Baker and Buck Showalter think so.
It’s an interesting point from Baker, considering he took over as Houston’s manager in 2020 after firing AJ Hinch following the startling revelation that the Astros illegally stole the signs in 2017, when they won the World Series, and again in 2018.
“I worry about that because you’re always aware of people stealing signs,” Baker said Saturday when the defending World Series champion Astros beat the Schwalters’ New York Mets 4-2 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Then there is the sensitive area. Well are you cheating? Is this part of the game stealing signals? If I know you hit and run that’s what I’m supposed to do.”
There is less time for the bunker to signal to the third base coach, who in turn must relay the signals to the hitters and runners, Baker said, and thus less time to use the decoys, which makes the signals easier to decipher.
Baker believes that the pitch clock puts more pressure on the third base coach to be quick and somewhat devious. On the other hand, the pitch clock also limits the amount of time defenses have to respond, even if they know a hit and run or bunt is coming.
The hardest job on the field, Baker said, is being a third base coach. “Everyone on the field has eyes on him. Everyone is trying to untangle his chain of marks. There are guys in the stands, now they’re guys in videos. I mean, if you know what the opposition is going to do, it makes it more difficult. Yeah, I worry about that.” .
Showalter shares Baker’s concern so much that he considers eliminating the middleman and having all marks come straight from the dugouts, a common practice in the amateur ranks.
“There are a lot of things we fear copying colleges or high schools because, ‘Oh, they’re amateurs and we’re professionals,’” Showalter said. “There are things they’ve done better. They don’t go through the third base coach. Why do we pass things over to a third base coach and then down to the player? It’s just another sequel.”
Homeland and violation
Los Angeles Angels outfielder Joe Adele used his only timeout while punting in the second inning, then on the next pitch hit a long, two-run homer to Seattle lefty Marco Gonzalez. On his final bet, he was fouled on the second strike by plate umpire Mike Moschlinski and eventually struck out.
“I was trying to figure out the number of timeouts before a strike, so I wanted to make sure I didn’t call in another,” said Adele. “The next hour I ran in seven seconds and got hit by a club. I think it’s okay, we’ll all get into the rhythm of that, and there will be some violations here and there.
Home plate tension
St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmul said referee C.B. Bucknor had “a zero score” for refusing to shake his hand during a home card exchange before a game against Washington. Marmol, who shook hands with the other three, was seeing Bucknor for the first time since his ejection in a contentious feud Aug. 21 in Arizona.
“I went into that match quite sure of my thoughts on him as a referee,” said Marmol. “They weren’t very good and it shows his lack of class as a man. I choose my words wisely. I just don’t think he’s good at his job and it shows his lack of class as a man.”
Marmol was fired last year in the final game of the series after protesting a strike call by Bucknor against Nolan Arenado, with both of them vociferously questioning their “time in the league.”
Bucknor was not available after Saturday’s game and did not return a phone call to a reporter.
Bryant is on the way
Colorado Rockies Chris Bryant’s first spring training game of the season featured more running than he could have expected. The 31-year-old is trying to recover after missing a large part of the 2022 season with various injuries, including to his right foot. 306 with five homers in 42 games.
Bryant reached first base on a fielder’s choice in the first inning against the Diamondbacks. Then he scored from first base on Ryan McMahon’s double to the wall.
“I felt like I was running really well,” Bryant said with a laugh, “I felt slow.” “But I think for the first time in spring training doing that, it’s a good test for me.”
Throws songs
Phillies right-hander Noah Song threw his mound during the third day of practices after joining the team from the US Navy and said the session was “good.” The 25-year-old was a flight officer training on a Poseidon marine patrol and reconnaissance aircraft before he was allowed to transfer from active duty to the reserves.
Impressive in his only professional season, Song made seven starts for Boston’s Class A Lowell team in 2019, striking out 19 in 17 innings pitched with a 1.06 ERA. With a fastball in the senior 90s mph, he went 11-1 with a 1.44 ERA and 161 strikeouts in 94 innings pitched during his first year at Navy.
The Phillies selected Song from the Phillies in the December draft of unprotected minor league players.
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AP sportswriter David Brant and AP freelance writers Chuck King, Rick Hamill, Jack Thompson and Mark Deidler contributed to this report.
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