Major League Baseball is pulling a “not so fast” on opportunistic pitchers.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported on Saturday that the league sent a memo to teams clarifying that umpires will call a “quick pitch” violation if the pitcher delivers the ball before the batter is “reasonably set” in the box. Feinsand notes that the penalty for a quick pitch is an automatic ball if the bases are empty or a balk if there are runners on.
The news comes after several pitchers had already tested the limits of the pitch clock rules in spring training, including New York Mets veteran Max Scherzer. During a spring game this week against the Washington Nationals, Scherzer remained set to throw after Nationals batter Riley Adams called for time. Then the instant that Adams was ready again, Scherzer fired away, resulting in a swinging strike-three.
