Community colleges have added a new rule starting this season: the pitch clock must be visible to the players and umpire. Before this rule, the pitch clock, which manages the time between pitches, was either visible to the players or wasn’t depending on how it was set up at that particular field. Skyline has set up two visible pitch clocks for their field. One to the right of the scoreboard in the outfield and one behind home plate.
Skyline has had the pitch clock for a total of four years. The reason for the change, according to head coach Tony Bruincardi, is Skyline follows the NCAA rulebook and implements any new rule that comes down the line. The NCAA follows the MLB and prepares its players for changes by implementing new rules the MLB comes up with. So what changes at the highest level of baseball automatically flows down the line into lower organizations so all organizations are on the same page.
“It makes it easier for the players to be compliant with the rule,” Bruincardi said.
The rules surrounding the pitch clock are as follows: the clock, starting at 20 seconds, begins once the pitcher comes set on the mound, and the pitcher must wait till the batter is in the box, eyes up and alert, before throwing the ball. However, the batter must be in the box, eyes up and alert, by the eight second mark or else they will be charged a strike as a form of penalty. If the pitcher doesn’t begin their motion by the zero mark, the pitcher will receive a ball as a form of penalty.
Bruincardi said he is indifferent to the pitch clock because he enjoys having a steady pace of play. He said that with the pitch clock, teams cannot use time as a form of strategy in order to throw off the rhythm of the game because the players are all running on the same time between pitches.
Before the pitch clock was implemented, pitchers could speed the game up by catching the batter off guard and firing the ball right at them as soon as they stepped in the box, or slowing the game way down by holding the ball while in set for longer than usual, making the batter nervous as they thought more and more of what pitch was coming.
One of the pitchers for Skyline, Devin Costa, said he doesn’t mind the pitch clock.
“It’s good,” said Costa. “It keeps the pace of the game going.”
Another aspect of the rule topic brought on by the pitchers is that due to the decreased rest time between pitches, pitchers may have an increased chance of physical injury.
Pitching Coach Marcus Pointer said that with the shorter time between pitches, to help get the players more adapted to the clock, pitchers are taking shorter breaks between pitches in the bullpen, as if they were actually being timed by the pitch clock.
“Guys have to have the ability to sustain throwing a pitch every 20 seconds for 15 minutes at a time,” Pointer said.
Overall, the new rule forcing the pitch clock to be visible has made it easier for the players and umpire to be on the same page, according to the players. As for the pitch clock as a whole, it has not had a major effect on the game, but has definitely done its job by speeding up the pace of play.
