Home plate umpire Jim Wolf waits because the pitch clock counts down through the first inning of a spring coaching baseball recreation between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday in Phoenix.

Morry Gash/AP

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Morry Gash/AP

Home plate umpire Jim Wolf waits because the pitch clock counts down through the first inning of a spring coaching baseball recreation between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday in Phoenix.

Morry Gash/AP

There are just a few key rule changes coming to Major League Baseball this season, however one specifically already is throwing gamers for a curve.

Spring coaching video games underway in Florida and Arizona have featured a brand new pitch clock, which provides pitchers a set period of time earlier than they need to throw the ball.

The timer is about to fifteen seconds if the bases are empty or 20 seconds if there are runners on base, and the hitter needs to be within the batter’s field with eight seconds left on the clock.

MLB officers say the pitch clock can assist scale back the length of games, which have averaged greater than three hours lengthy in recent times. But the brand new rule has drawn some criticism, and over the weekend it brought about bewilderment on the diamond.

On Saturday, throughout a spring coaching matchup between the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox, Braves hitter Cal Conley was known as out for failing to get into the batter’s field on time. The recreation — which was within the backside of the ninth inning with a full depend, two outs and the bases loaded — ended in a tie. Conley reacted with shocked laughter.

The pitch clock is not the one new rule popping up this season.

First, second and third bases have grown in dimension from 15 inches sq. to 18 inches sq., which the MLB says will scale back participant accidents. The league can also be requiring two infielders on both sides of the second-base line earlier than a pitch is thrown, stopping them from crowding one side or another in a defensive maneuver often called the “infield shift.”

League officers say the rule modifications did not come out of left subject however relatively have been developed in response to suggestions from gamers and umpires, and have been first examined within the minor leagues.

“These steps are designed to improve pace of play, increase action, and reduce injuries, all of which are goals that have overwhelming support among our fans,” MLB commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. said in a statement in September, when the brand new guidelines have been accepted.

“Throughout the extensive testing of recent years, Minor League personnel and a wide range of fans – from the most loyal to casual observers – have recognized the collective impact of these changes in making the game even better and more enjoyable,” Manfred added.

For instance, final yr within the minor leagues the pitch clock helped scale back the typical size of a recreation by 25 minutes, and the bigger bases led to a 13% discount in “injury events” close to the bases, the MLB mentioned.

That groups will be capable of get used to the brand new guidelines — notably the pitch clock — throughout spring coaching. And regardless of the pushback, some pitchers have instructed the brand new timer may very well give them a bonus.

“I can work extremely quickly, or I can work extremely slow,” New York Mets star pitcher Max Scherzer told reporters after his first spring training start. “There is another layer here to be able to mess with the hitter’s timing.”