Pitch Clock

    In the 2022-23 offseason, MLB announced some new rule changes that would drastically affect the way the game was played. I've published about this subject before (https://thecooperstownadvocate.blogspot.com/2022/09/hes-complaining-again.html), and being a baseball purist, I can't say that I appreciate the new rules very much. However, out of all three major rule changes, one stands out as being the worst: the dreaded pitch clock. 

Now just in case anyone is unfamiliar with the rule, here's a brief explanation: 

   

The pitch clock allows for 15 seconds between pitches with no runners on base and 20 seconds with baserunners, and limits against how often a pitcher may step off the rubber. A ball will be called against a pitcher who takes longer than the allowed time, and a strike against any "offending" batter who takes "too long" to get himself ready. MLB also limited pitchers to two pickoff attempts per batter (or three if he succeeds the third time), with any violations counted as a balk. 

The whole point of the pitch clock is to speed up the game. A pitch clock violation, once called, will slow down the game because the umpire calls time. Often I've seen pitchers starting their windup as the pitch clock reaches zero, and while the batter is preparing to hit the pitch, the ump calls time, stopping the play. The pitcher then either throws the ball, which prevents a hazard, or forcibly stops his high powered throw, which can pose a serious risk to his deceleration muscles. If the umpire had waited one more second and let the pitch continue, it would have saved ten or fifteen seconds (and in rare cases, helped prevent an injury). In a perfect world there would be no pitch clock. 

The penalty for a pitch clock violation committed by the pitcher is an automatic ball. One pitch changes the dynamic of an at bat, which could affect the dynamic of an inning, which could decide the outcome of a game. While calling time out for a pitch clock violation is stupidly time inefficient, let's assume for some reason that there must be a pitch clock. Fine. Instead of an automatic ball, let's make the penalty a $1,000 fine. That way, the game wouldn't be tainted by artificial means. The fine could be effective because MLB players hate salary cuts, even if they don't need the extra money. Just seeing the money coming out of their check really ticks them off. And if a $1,000 fine seems insignificant, just imagine you getting fined $1,000 at work for taking one extra second to do a particular task. 

This would be a good solution. I should be the commissioner.