MLB will be using a series of new rules in the 2023 season and beyond.
The most controversial one, without a doubt, has been the pitch clock.
Pitchers have seen how the umpire adds a ball to the count in the early going of spring training.
Hitters, however, have also gotten strikes for not being ready for the next pitch at the eight-second mark.
A spring training game actually ended that way.
We have also seen double violations of the rule: both the hitter and the pitcher took more than their allotted time and the count started 1-1.
Fans were wondering what would happen in the event of a double violation if the count was 3-2.
MLB insider Jesse Rogers has been following the pitch clock topic for months, and he is more informed than anyone else on the matter.
I have provided an answer to that hypothetical scenario.
As they iron things out, that scenario should/will be eliminated. Dual violations won’t be a thing. It’ll go on the pitcher OR the hitter. Play dead. Start over. https://t.co/v9XSoBgvMX
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) February 28, 2023
There you have it.
First, it’s clear that the pitch clock is still a work in progress in MLB: everybody is adjusting to it, even umpires.
Second, Rogers clarifies that there won’t be double violations, implying that the first player to make a violation will be flagged and punished with a strike or ball as the umpire sees fit.
The pitch clock, when it comes to average game time, has been a success in the early going.
Games used to take more than three hours in 2022, but with the new measure, they are closer to the two-and-a-half hour mark.
The league finds that extremely attractive: it was their goal from the beginning.
As players adjust, it will probably be a success.
NEXT:
MLB Analysts Discuss The Diamondbacks’ 2023 Outlook
