When the season started a new pitch clock were introduced in order to tackle the issue with time wasting. Many players got accustomed to it, but there are still some, who haven’t been able to adapt as quickly.
Such was the case with Mets’ pitcher Justin Verlander. At the start of the third inning in Monday’s game against the Brewers., Verlander was assessed an automatic ball because he threw a warmup pitch with 27 seconds left on the timer.
The rules state that pitchers must complete their warmup tosses before the clock ticks below 30 seconds.
“He caught me off guard,” he said. “I know that you’re supposed to get your last warmup pitch in before 30 seconds. It was right about that time and I was about to throw my pitch and I think he started yelling ‘One more’ and kind of holding up the one [finger].”
Verlander also stated that the rules need further changes so to avoid unnecessary situations like these.