Main League Baseball is pulling a “not so quick” on opportunistic pitchers.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported on Saturday that the league despatched a memo to groups clarifying that umpires will name a “fast pitch” violation if the pitcher delivers the ball earlier than the batter is “fairly set” within the field. Feinsand notes that the penalty for a fast pitch is an automated ball if the bases are empty or a balk if there are runners on.
The information comes after a number of pitchers had already examined the boundaries of the pitch clock guidelines in spring coaching, together with New York Mets veteran Max Scherzer. Throughout a spring sport this week towards the Washington Nationals, Scherzer remained set to throw after Nationals batter Riley Adams known as for time. Then the moment that Adams was prepared once more, Scherzer fired away, leading to a swinging strike-three.
