FORT MYERS, Fla. – Having a digital clock counting down between every pitch, Jose Berrios said Monday, is certain to become incredibly annoying.
To hitters, he meant. "I pitch pretty fast. I just get the ball, rub up the ball if it's a new one, and I'm ready for the next pitch," the Twins All-Star righthander said. "But maybe for the hitters, they'll have to be ready, and they don't like it. And that's OK with me."
Under Commissioner Rob Manfred's orders, spring training games will serve as a testing ground for the new rules, and Manfred has the option of unilaterally instituting the pitch clock for the regular season, too, though he hopes to negotiate an agreement with the players. In the minor leagues, pitchers must deliver a pitch within 15 seconds of receiving the ball if the bases are empty, and 20 seconds if a runner is on base. The clock is reset when a pitcher steps off the rubber or makes a pickoff throw, but a ball is added to the count if the clock runs out.
In addition, a strike is added to the count if a hitter is not in the batter's box at least seven seconds before the clock runs out, a wrinkle that pitchers such as Berrios and teammate Tyler Duffey enjoy. "I can't wait to see an umpire ring a guy up [on a third strike] for not being in the box," Duffey said. "That's when you'll know they're serious about it."
The penalties might not be enforced during Grapefruit and Cactus League games this spring, since players and umpires are still getting used to the rules. And Manfred has not said whether the rules, which trimmed more than 10 minutes off the average time of minor league games, will be put in place for the regular season.
"We'll talk to our players and see how they feel," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "I'm looking forward to seeing how it works, because it has been talked about for a long time."
Most Twins pitchers surveyed Monday said they don't expect it to be a major change. Some even applaud the action.
"I'm quick, so I don't really pay attention. I'll be under 20 seconds every time," righthander Addison Reed said. "I like it."
Kyle Gibson got used to the rule during a minor league stint in 2017, and found a loophole. "I don't see it as a be-all, end-all. There are ways to get around it. If you get your sign, you come set and you step off [the rubber], the 20 seconds resets," he said. Who might be affected? Gibson couldn't think of a current teammate, just a former one. "People always gave [Mike] Pelfrey a hard time about working slow," he said.