Major League Baseball’s labor and management representatives have taken a nuanced stance on the issue of pitch clocks, which will be introduced in the 2023 season, but will they be limited in the postseason?
Major League Baseball Players Union Secretary Tony Clark and Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, the two leaders of the league’s labor and management, spoke to reporters at the annual meeting of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) at a hotel in downtown Seattle, Washington, on Wednesday.
One of the biggest topics of discussion was the new pitch clock this season. Starting this season, Major League Baseball changed the rule to require pitchers to pitch within 15 seconds with no runners on base and 20 seconds with runners out.
While both acknowledged the positive changes Pitch Clock has brought to the league, they differed on whether the rule should remain in place for the postseason.
Clark said that the players would like to see the pitch clock adjusted for the postseason, and that they would like to see players allowed “a few extra seconds.”
The postseason is played with a different level of tension and focus than the regular season. It’s not unreasonable to ask that players be given a little more time to consider their options.
It’s also necessary to reduce the likelihood of a game being decided by a Pitch Clock violation.
Commissioner Manfred, who came to the event after Clarke’s departure, said that he was willing to discuss the issue with Clarke and the players, stating that “we don’t want the postseason to be decided by pitch clock violations.”카지노사이트
However, he also expressed a negative stance on postseason pitch clock adjustments for two reasons.
The first is that, while there are exceptions, such as extra innings, “the postseason is played the same way as the regular season,” and the second is that “the field is acclimated to how the pitch clock works and violations are managed.”
According to data from Major League Baseball’s office, 60 percent of the 1,357 games played in the first half of the 2023 season were without a single pitch clock violation. It’s unlikely that a crucial game in the postseason will be decided by a pitch clock violation, as some fear.
While both sides are clear on their positions, both sides are open to dialog, so it will be interesting to see what happens next. When asked if he expected to see any changes to the pitch clock rule in the postseason this season, Clark said, “I don’t know.”