Warm Up Pitches

Unbelievably pitch clocks also now apply to pitchers when warming up between innings.  Normally, the rule allows a pitcher to throw eight pitches before each inning to warm up after sitting on the bench.  We say normally, since now MLB has decided to apply a pitch clock to warm up pitches.  This new rule somewhat went under the radar until June 1^st.  That was when the umpire stopped Max Scherzer of the New York Mets from throwing his last warm up pitch, because he had exceeded his time limit.

Specifically the between inning break rules state:

— A timer counts down between innings from 2:05 for breaks in locally televised games, from 2:25 in nationally televised games and from 2:55 for tiebreaker and postseason games.

— At the 25-second mark, the umpire will signal for the final warmup pitch and the pitcher must throw it before the clock hits 20.  The batter will be announced at the 20-second mark and the pitcher must begin his windup to throw the first pitch of the inning within the five seconds before the clock hits zero.

— This new rule thus does not guarantee a pitcher eight-warmup pitches between innings. However, he can take as many as he wants within the countdown parameters noted above. The timer will start on the last out of the inning, unless the pitcher is on base, on deck or at bat, in which case the timer shall begin when the pitcher leaves the dugout for the mound.

After reading this rule, we started to wonder.  What would be the consequences if Scherzer had ignored the umpire and instead had thrown his eighth and final warm up pitch?  Based on the rule above that would lead us to believe that it would delay the overall inning and thus the time the batter had to get ready and for Scherzer to start his wind up to begin the inning.  In that case, would they charge a ball to Scherzer?  The inning though had not officially begun yet, so how could there be consequences?  If they truly would charge a ball then this is hard to fathom, since a baseball game would actually have an event (charged ball) before the inning even started!

Getting back to Scherzer and his incident, he stated after that game that, “Why do we need a pitch clock for that situation? Why can’t the umpire have discretion?…The umpires are frustrated, as we are, that we’re living and dying by the clock.”

We believe Scherzer was correct on all points.  The fact is that the game is now out of the hands of the umpires and instead MLB has chosen to turn it over to the Clock God.  The dehumanization and sterility of the game is on clear display when a pitcher cannot throw his full complement of warm up pitches since it literally might take up a few more seconds.  Warm up pitches are not simply a ritual, but necessary for a pitcher to get his arm ready and limber for the strain for another inning of work.  One would think that owners who spend millions on these pitchers would want to ensure their health and wellbeing by allowing them to take a few extra seconds to get in their required warm ups.  Evidently, we were wrong and this fairly simple logic is lost on the owners and MLB.

We believe one Twitter user who responded to Scherzer’s thread above sums up our thoughts best when it comes to warm up and pitch clocks in general.

We couldn’t agree more Metsboy32.  That might be our new slogan here at Baseball Purist going forward!