Pitch clock gets mostly positive reviews from Goldeyes

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This article was published 09/06/2023 (879 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Goldeyes players need to keep their eyes on more than the ball in 2023.

The club is 24 games into the pitch-clock era of baseball, which the American Association voted to institute this season, following suit on Major League Baseball.

The intent of the clock is multi-faceted, but none is more important than improving the pace of play in a game that has long been bashed for lengthy periods of inaction.

Games in the American Association lasted three hours and 11 minutes on average in 2022, and the length of games had been increasing for more than a decade. A trial run with the clock in minor league baseball last season saved 26 minutes of time on average.

On May 31, the Goldeyes’ game against the Chicago Dogs finished in less than two hours.

It’s not realistic to expect a sub-two-hour game for every outing, but there’s no doubt the new rules have made the game easier for fans to digest. Pitchers have 15 seconds to deliver a pitch with the bases empty and 20 seconds with runners on base. If the pitcher doesn’t start his throwing motion before the clock reaches zero, he is charged with a ball.

Meanwhile, batters have until eight seconds remaining to show they are ready to receive a pitch. If they take too long, a strike is added to the count — and, yes, they can strike out on a clock violation.

Not only has the ticking clock provided more entertainment for fans, but it’s certainly kept the heat on the players.

“There are times where I’m on the mound and I see the pitch clock getting down and my catcher hasn’t put a sign down yet and I’m like, ‘We got to hurry this one up a little bit,’” Goldeyes reliever RJ Martinez said Friday.

“You get that little antsy feeling, I’d say. And it could have an effect on the pitches just because the grip might not be exactly how you’re used to holding it because you had to rush everything.”

Martinez said it took him three outings to completely adjust to the clock, but that he was never really bothered by the changes, as he’s always liked to work quickly.

“In a way, it’s definitely helped speed up the game, but at the same time, you go your whole career doing something a certain way and now all of a sudden they’re like, ‘You have to change everything — your routine, you got to speed it up.’”

Fellow reliever Rob Klinchock was skeptical about the new rule when he heard about it during the off-season.

“At first, I wasn’t for it,” he said. “I thought the game was fine where it was. But once we got to it and saw it used in-game, I was more of a fan of it.”

Klinchock said he would add five seconds to the clock, as pitchers can begin to feel rushed by the ticking time when they’re out of rhythm. The increased pace has also forced hurlers to ensure they’re keeping up with their cardio routine.

“I’ve always worked fast, so I’ve always been in that timeframe. But usually, when things start to get a little bit too quick, you do kind of want to have a little bit of time, to slow down the game,” he said.

The new rule has benefitted batters such as Dayson Croes, whose pre-pitch routine is concise. The first-year Goldeye was on a 21-game hitting streak entering Friday’s series opener against the Kansas City Monarchs at Shaw Park.

“As a hitter, I think it helps me when pitchers are trying to work quickly. It speeds me up, too, because I have to be in there anyway so it beats the purpose of working quickly because I’m already in there ready to go. It hasn’t bothered me at all honestly,” Croes said.

The same can’t be said for batters like the Goldeyes’ Tra Holmes, whose slower pace has cost him four clock violations this season, which leads the league. The new rule appears to favour the pitcher, but Croes explained it can be a blessing and a curse for both sides.

“I think it can go both ways. If a pitcher is struggling, he has no time to reset because you’re ready to go so he has to pitch to you. But then again, if a pitcher is grooving, it can be an advantage to them because (batters) only have one timeout, so you can’t really slow him down.”

Despite Greg Tagert’s vast experience with the old rules (he grew up watching baseball in the ‘70s), you won’t find a bigger supporter of the new game than the Goldeyes’ manager.

“I absolutely love it,” Tagert said.

“The most important reason is, (Thursday), 11-inning game, the crowd was still here. (That was) unheard of a year ago, two years ago. And it’s not just in our league — major league stadiums emptying out.”

The club has averaged 3,241 in attendance through 12 games at Shaw Park this season, down slightly from 3,414 in 2022, which ranked third in the league. Tagert believes the shorter game could bode well for numbers.

“The most important (person) we’re trying to appease is the fan. And I have seen more people at the ballpark in the ninth inning of a ball game, in this short window, than I have in the last seven to 10 years,” he said.

“The game has a pace. It’s quicker without making the game feel rushed. It has a pace that baseball is meant to be played at.

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam