The pitch clock is seen behind Kolten Wong #16 and Julio Rodriguez #44 of the Seattle Mariners in a spring training game against the San Diego Padres at Peoria Stadium on February 24, 2023 in Peoria, Arizona. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) By the time Cubs outfielder Brennen Davis actually saw a pitch from Arizona’s Joe Mantiply, the count was already at a ball and a strike.Both the hitter and pitcher were penalized at the start of Davis’ at-bat to lead off the top of the third inning of Monday’s spring training game, the latest odd twist in baseball’s speed-up rules.
After Mantiply entered the game as a reliever, he took too long to throw his warmup pitches; then Davis was too slow to get ready for the pitch.Major League Baseball approved its first pitch clock this season, and every day is a new experience for the players as they try to get used to them this spring.
On Saturday, Boston's game against Atlanta ended on a walk-off automatic strike; on Sunday, Mets ace Max Scherzer struck out Washington’s Joey Meneses in just 27 seconds.RELATED: MLB to test pitch timer, other big rule changes at spring training"I like the idea of games being shorter," Marlins reliever Matt Barnes said. "In Boston, we played a nine-inning, four-and-a-half-hour game against New York on a Tuesday.
That’s not fun. So I like the idea of it being quicker."So far, it's working.The new rules, which also limit the number of times a pitcher can throw to first base, have helped cut more than 20 minutes from spring training games through the first weekend, dropping from an average of 3 hours, 1 minute last spring to 2:39."It’s here, and we have to abide by the rules, and we have to learn how to do it," Barnes said. "I’ll just have to figure out.