Pitching to Excellence
Pitch clock in the MLB has caused various actions to happen and has changed the way baseball is played. It has had its effects on batters and has definitely had its effects on pitchers. Pitchers have complained for years about how batters were able to take their time doing routines and getting in the box to get ready for an at-bat. This pitch clock has granted the pitcher’s wishes and now batters have to step in before the clock gets down to eight seconds. Because of the pitch clock, the game and the players have now changed for the time being until the rule is possibly changed.
Pitch clock has had multiple effects on pitchers. Pitchers are now able to pitch faster and not have to wait as much time in between pitches. This wait being shortened and the batter not having as much time to think has resulted in pitchers seemingly gaining a slight advantage to the rule. In the article, Ask Hal: So who benefits most from MLB pitch clock, Hal Mccoy comments, “It seems, though, that the pitcher has the slight advantage. The time clock has disrupted batter routines like adjusting batting gloves and taking strolls outside the batter’s box after every pitch.” The routines of the batters were so crucial to them preparing for an at bat and possibly rethinking what a pitcher would do. When they have to take a pitch then step in the box within ten seconds they can get thrown off and not be as prepared for a pitcher’s next throw.
Batters have seemingly got the short end of the stick when it comes to pitch clock. They have to be ready as soon as they get in the batter’s box whereas the pitcher can take a few seconds if needed once standing on the mound. Most of the pitchers in the league are trying to manipulate the clock as well. As soon as the batter gets in they like to pitch the ball and fire it as fast as possible to throw the batter off. In the article, Pitchers are Adamant, Zach Crizer claims: “At eight seconds, hitters are required to be in the box and alert. At that point, pitchers can fire the ball to the plate — ready or not — or simply hold it and make the batter squirm.” The batters have such little time to react to the ball being thrown that it mostly results in weak fly balls and even worse, strikeouts.
Pitchers have been testing out ways to get better with the pitch clock and because of that, some pitchers are seemingly better with the new rule than when the rule wasn’t a thing. In the article, It’s Time, Nate Schwartz states “ Devin Williams improved his tempo by 7.2 seconds and only lost 0.2 mph with the bases empty, but improved his tempo by 9.4 seconds and gained 0.5 mph with runners on.” When the pitch clock is shorter, pitchers are gaining tempo or pitching faster. When runners are on base Devin actually gets better as a pitcher, gaining an extra half mph of speed on his pitches. When pitchers didn’t have the rule and runners were on base, they seemed to think about what the runners were going to do and they seemed to worry. They now have no time to think about the runners on the basepaths and have to pitch well in order to get out of jams. The tempo increase along with the velocity increase is helping some pitchers to perform better.
Pitch clock has also changed the time of the game. Games have gotten shorter as a result of the pitch clock. It is more fast paced and action packed because of the new rule. The pitch clock has resulted in games being two and a half hours instead of the grueling three hours some fans don’t like. In the article titled, Baseball’s pitch clock has transformed game length, Ben Lindbergh comments: “One minute, there were still three MLB games going on; roughly six minutes later, all three were over, and baseball was done for the day.” A game can now go into the final inning of play and wrap up in as little as six minutes. Pitch clock makes it so that these pitchers and batters have to be quick. If they are not quick enough to follow the rules there are consequences.
There are consequences with not following the pitch clock and the batters and pitchers trying to take their times. An at bat can end without a pitch even being thrown due to the pitch clock. If the pitcher lets the time run all the way down to zero they are charged a pitcher violation and the batter is given an immediate ball. This can result in a big moment like walking in the winning run without even getting a chance to throw the pitch. Likewise however if the batter is not ready in the batter’s box by the time the clock ticks down to zero they are charged a batter’s violation and a strike is put onto the count they are already in. That same game winning walk off walk can easily change to a game ending strike out simply because the batter was not ready in time. This seems to benefit the pitcher more as they get more time. The pitcher gets anywhere from fifteen to twenty seconds to throw the pitch whereas the batter only gets about eight to be in the box. The rule seems a little unfair to batters but the rule was implemented to have more action and batters were the ones taking more time. They can no longer do their routines and because of that, the games have been getting shorter as the year moves on.
While the pitch clock has caused some serious changes to the game of baseball, it has overall been a good change and the fans are starting to get on board. Whether it is a casual fan or a die-hard fan, most fans agree the games were just too long to watch and would often get bored. All the routines and playing around in between the game was not satisfying to them. The pitch clock has changed that and made the game more enjoyable.
References
Lindbergh, B. (2023b, May 1). Baseball’s pitch clock has transformed game length-and not just in the obvious way. The Ringer. https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2023/5/1/23706488/pitch-clock-2023-shorter-games-uniform-duration
Schwartz, N. (2024, January 9). It’s time: How did the pitch clock affect pitchers in 2023? Pitcher List. https://pitcherlist.com/its-time-how-did-the-pitch-clock-affect-pitchers-in-2023/
Writer, H. M. – C. (n.d.). Ask Hal: So who benefits most from MLB pitch clock?. dayton. https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/ask-hal-so-who-benefits-most-from-mlb-pitch-clock/YI2NYCIC5ZBALNY3B2NXIJDMII/
Yahoo! (n.d.). Pitchers are adamant: MLB’s pitch clock will give them an edge over hitters. will spring training games prove it? Yahoo! Sports. https://sports.yahoo.com/pitchers-are-adamant-mlbs-pitch-clock-will-give-them-an-edge-over-hitters-will-spring-training-games-prove-it-175136106.html
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Counterintuitive Spring 2024 
Hey, EaglesFan!
I appreciate your request for Feedback and will respond to it in the order I hear back from the six students I have not yet served.
You didn’t specify a time limit for me, but I hope you will.
As you know, I expect you to spend as much time revising your work as I spend providing feedback.
So . . . care to set a limit, or prescribe what sort of feedback you’d most like to receive, or . . . just take your chances?
Thanks! (I hope you’re enjoying your Spring Break!)
—DSH
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OK, EaglesFan, you didn’t give me a time limit, so I’m just going to dive in and say what I see. You’ll have to match me time-for-time with revisions to earn additional Feedback or a Regrade.
I’ve already been at it for about 20 minutes just reviewing your Sources, one of which seems to be useful. I haven’t read the essay yet, just seeing in advance what evidence you’ve gathered.
—Schwartz has done some strong research of his own and has a lot to offer anyone who’s arguing the costs and benefits of the PitchClock to batters or pitchers.
—Lindbergh seems irrelevant to me, since he comments only on game length and the deviation in duration between the longest and shortest games. If that favors batters or pitchers, I’ll wait for you to tell me.
—Hal M-C has only the tiniest bits of anecdotal observation to offer, of the “pitchers seem to” variety.
—Yahoo! teased you (and me) with the perfect headline and then failed to deliver much at all.
I’ll be eager to see how much their contributions helped you. There are undoubtedly better sources than these. If you want guidance in finding them, speak up. I’m eager to help.
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Let’s start. I may take as long as 30 minutes on this part of the feedback, which would put your price tag at one hour of revisions needed for a regrade.
Stop me at any time, or encourage me to do more.
—This entire paragraph is called “throat-clearing.”
—Cut it. It serves no purpose.
—This is a causal argument, so you should tell us why you say “pitcher ARE NOW ABLE to pitch faster” instead of “pitchers ARE NOW REQUIRED to pitch faster.
—We both know it’s because the BATTER is required to be ready in 8 seconds, so the batter can’t slow down the pitcher. But that’s not obvious yet in your essay.
—Again, since this is CAUSAL argument, you’ll have to explain, in a word or five, that the advantage pitchers gain is a result of batters having less time to SET THEMSELVES the way they used to.
—As you can see, EaglesFan, I make my remarks WHILE READING your essay, just as your Ideal Reader would react, in order to give you insight into whether or not you’re holding or losing your reader’s attention or confidence.
—Hal supplies most of what I was asking for above.
—It works OK if you provide exactly the right details to answer the concerns you’ve raised.
—If you’d like to do a workshop on the best ways to deploy quotations (WHEN AND WHY), please respond. I think we could use your paragraph here to craft one or maybe more improved versions.
—This explanation definitely comes too late.
—Your readers would have been primed to accept your conclusions if you had provided this explanation BEFORE you dropped the quote.
I’m at 40 minutes now, and I have a chore to do.
Back later.
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I have 20 minutes left for four paragraphs. Let’s put this on a Pitch Clock. 🙂
—How is this situation a CONSEQUENCE of the Pitch Clock?
—Pitchers have always had the option to throw the ball as soon as the batter got into the box.
—And batters have been permitted to “call time” on a pitcher if they were made to wait “too long” in their estimation for a pitch to be thrown.
—In the Pitch Clock era, batters always have at least 8 seconds to set themselves, and pitchers always have at least 7 seconds after that to deliver the ball.
—Where’s the imbalance?
—I’ve read your source, so I know Williams is the anomaly. Every other pitcher named lost velocity BOTH with bases empty or occupied.
—Not to mention, he improved his tempo with runners on because the “runners on” clock gives him extra time.
—Again, of the pitchers you researched, only Williams is pitching “better” under any circumstances, and “better” only means “with less delay.” It doesn’t mean throwing more strikes or an improved ERA or a better “runners left stranded” percentage. Or am I missing something?
—Fascinating. I’m intrigued with the way you manipulated that data.
—The quote did not say that the inning lasted only six minutes.
—It didn’t say that the last innings of the three games each lasted six minutes or less.
—All it said was that, say, at 8:54, three games were still undecided, all of them still playing the ninth inning. By 9:00, all three were finished.
—The point of the quote is that games TEND TO BE SIMILAR IN DURATION. That’s it.
—I can’t tell whether your Ideal Reader is already familiar with baseball rules AND the wrinkles produced by the Pitch Clock, or a casual fan who comes to you hoping someone will explain the time limit and its rationale.
—You’ll write more effectively if you tailor your arguments and evidence to one or the other.
—Well . . .
—Is it your point that the pitcher begins his preparation WHILE the batter is loitering . . .
—Or, is the pitcher similarly restricted, to the 7 seconds AFTER the batter sets?
—”Seems unfair” is where I would be if I were one sort of reader.
—”Has been proven unfair” is where I’d HOPE TO BE after I read your essay.
—I haven’t seen your evidence yet that the Pitch Clock has actually resulted in better PERFORMANCE for either pitchers or batters.
—Has nobody done the numbers yet on the 2023 season?
I hope that was helpful, EaglesFan. I’m pretty confident it must have been aggravating. I have that effect when I voice my reservations and remain unconvinced. The lesson I wish to share is that I AM YOUR IDEAL READER for the classroom. Nobody will ever take as much time and care with your drafts as this guy. The closer you come to convincing me that your arguments are sound, the better prepared you will be to face REAL readers in real situations who need your wisdom and guidance.
Provisionally graded at Canvas. Regrades are always available following significant improvements to any draft (even later drafts of work already revised).
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READ THIS BEFORE DOING ANY REVISIONS:
Instead:
1. Copy and paste its contents into your new Causal Rewrite—EaglesFan.
2. If you require no Feedback, that completes your assignment. You will receive no Feedback, but you could still revise your work without feedback and receive a Regrade.
3. Remember, your complete Portfolio MUST CONTAIN evidence of Feedback and Revision for two of your three short arguments, Definition / Causal / Rebuttal. If you receive no feedback for THIS assignment, you’ll need Feedback on the other two.
4. If you DO want feedback following your first draft grade, put your Rewrite in to Feedback Please.
5. THAT’S NOT THE LAST STEP.
6. The last step is to leave a Reply on your Rewrite post instructing me how much time you want me to spend on your Feedback. For every hour I spend, you’ll owe me an hour of Revision Time. I have spent one hour so far.
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