PITTSBURGH — Baseball players are nuts, every blessed one of them. A few hours after learning of fairly substantial changes to the game — MLB instituting a pitch clock, banning the shift and enlarging bases — Wil Crowe spoke in perfect detail how he expects pitchers to manipulate having to deliver a pitch in 15 or 20 seconds.
Crowe, of course, considered himself part of that group searching for the tiniest advantage. Like so much in this sport, the devil’s in the details.
“The pitch clock is gonna affect the game,” Crowe said. “It might affect the integrity of the game.”
Before we cover what worries Crowe and other pitchers, I do have to disagree with his premise. The pitch clock isn’t going to affect the integrity of the game. It will speed it the heck along, which everyone outside of those intimately involved with the sport realize has been needed for years.
For while those who cash paychecks bearing the logos of MLB’s 30 clubs might think baseball can and should be endless, that’s not an opinion shared by the rest of the world. Other entertainment options exist. A pitch every 45 to 55 seconds doesn’t cut it. Move it along, guys.
But the fascinating part here is what these rules might do, the scenario they could create.
When Crowe pitched for the Nationals, he remembers watching Max Scherzer work on 20-second holds during bullpens. One of the best — and certainly most intense — pitchers on the planet would come set and hold that position for what seemed like an eternity, then deliver a pitch to mimic what might happen if he was really trying to prevent a runner at first base from stealing.
It’s overkill, obviously. The batter would ask for time in that scenario, fearful something weird was happening, but there’s also a part of pitching prep here that resonated with Crowe. By varying how long they take releasing the ball from the stretch, pitchers can control the running game. Base-stealers can’t get jumps. They can’t time a pitcher’s move. It keeps them honest, and it’s a nuanced thing Crowe has always done well.
And, now, with a clock, pitchers have an extra toy with which to play.
“We might hold the ball for 10 seconds and wait until that clock hits one [second], but on the next pitch, we might pitch as soon as they get in the box,” Crowe said. “We’re gonna have to do our part to manipulate it, as well.”
As far as whether the rule affects pitchers or hitters more, many Pirates agreed those holding bats would suffer more. Bryan Reynolds was vehemently against the practice because he likes the time to think — but also understands he might be screaming down an empty hallway at this point.
Having experienced a pitch clock with Triple-A Indianapolis, Cal Mitchell said his biggest concern was the logistics of it; sounds silly, but sometimes, the clock would start early, disrupting the rhythm of a batter-pitcher matchup.
“It wasn't a consistent start time, and you didn't know how long you had,” Mitchell said.
There are loopholes to the timing rule, of course. A pitcher can disengage with the rubber twice per plate appearance without penalty. That clock resets if the runner advances, and a balk can be avoided if that third disengagement results in a successful pickoff throw.
On the shift stuff, Reynolds couldn’t hide his excitement the shift will soon be dead and we’ll see two fielders on either side of second base.
“Hell yeah,” Reynolds said. “I love it.”
Much like the time of game, the numbers on shifts have gotten out of control. A pitch clock tamped minor league game times from 3:04 in 2021 to 2:38 this season, while defensive alignments featuring four players in the outfield have increased nearly 600% since 2018.
The Pirates, for anyone curious, are about average; they shift 34.2% of the time, which is the 13th most among the 30 clubs.
Yet Reynolds this season has seen a shift in 78.7% of his left-handed plate appearances, which is basically 35% higher than his next-closest season (2020). His weighted on-base average (wOBA) has gone from .364 with no shift to .341 when one is employed.
“You can hit a ball in the hole again,” Reynolds said of no longer having a fielder stationed in shallow right field. “Righties always get to hit a ball in the hole. Now, lefties do too. I’m happy with it. I think it’s huge.”
Banning shifts should theoretically increase offense by balls finding holes, but there’s also a running element here to consider. With the bases going from 15 to 18 inches, there’s 4 1/2 fewer inches between first and second and second and third.
Tested data in the minor leagues has seen steal attempts go from 2.23 per game in 2019 to 2.83 this season, with the success rate improving from 68% to 77%. Base-related injuries have also dropped 13.5% across MiLB.
From a roster construction standpoint, Pirates manager Derek Shelton believes guys who make solid contact will see their value increase, while the stolen base should become more of a threat under these new rules.
“I definitely don't think it's a bad thing because it brings back action and excitement,” Shelton said, “but, again, now, how you put your team together and then you deploy that, it can be something that really changes. That's something that a lot of teams are going to have to look at."
