As a starting pitcher, Nate Smith is acquainted with baseball’s slower moments more than most.
Four out of every five games Smith sits in the dugout watching instead of playing. Sometimes, nights can feel like they drag on … and on … and on.
Let’s get going
In an effort to increase action on the field, Minor League Baseball adopted pace of play rules that began this season. Clocks have been installed at Dickey-Stephens Park and other Class AAA and Class AA parks and penalties for taking too much time in between innings, during pitching changes and in between pitches will be issued starting May 1
BETWEEN INNINGS
TIME ALLOTTED 2 minutes, 25 seconds. The first batter of an inning is encouraged to be in the batters’ box and alert to the pitcher with 20 seconds left on the clock. The pitcher must begin his windup or begin the motion to come to the set position at any point within the last 20 seconds.
PENALTY If a pitcher fails to begin his wind-up or begin the motion to come to the set position, the batter will begin the at-bat with a 1-0 count. If a batter is not in the batter’s box and alert to the pitcher, the at-bat will begin with a 0-1 count.
PITCHING CHANGES
TIME ALLOTTED 2 minutes, 25 seconds. The clock will begin as soon as the relief pitcher crosses the warning track if the bullpen is behind an outfield wall, or when the pitcher crosses the foul line if the bullpen is in foul territory.
PENALTY If a pitcher fails to begin his wind-up or begin the motion to come to the set position, the batter will begin the at bat with a 1-0 count. If a batter is not in the batter’s box and alert to the pitcher, the at-bat will begin with a 0-1 count.
BETWEEN PITCHES
TIME ALLOTTED 20 seconds. The pitcher does not have to release the ball within the 20 seconds, but must begin his wind-up or begin the motion to come to the set position to comply with the rule. The clock will begin when the pitcher has the ball and is standing on the mound and the batter is standing in the dirt circle around home plate. Clocks reset for pickoff and feint pickoff attempts, or if the pitcher steps off the rubber with runners on base.
PENALTY If a pitcher pitcher fails to begin his wind-up or begin the motion to come to the set position, a ball will be applied to the count on the batter.
SOURCE milb.com
Today’s game
Arkansas Travelers vs. Frisco RoughRiders
WHEN 7:10 p.m.
WHERE Dickey-Stephens Park, North Little Rock
RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in central Arkansas WEBSITE travs.com
PITCHERS Travelers: Albert Suarez (RHP, 1-0, 3.60 ERA); RoughRiders: Andrew Faulkner (LHP, 0-0, 3.38)
TICKETS Gates open 1 hour before first pitch. $12 box, $8 reserved ($5 children), $6 general admission ($4 children)
PROMOTIONS Travelers magnet schedule
SHORT HOPS The 6-0 Travelers are off to their best start in at least a decade and are the only unbeaten team in Class AA. ... Second baseman Sherman Johnson leads the minor leagues with nine runs scored and the Travs’ team on-base percentage of .409 also leads the minors. ... Travs’ starter Albert Suarez earned a victory over Frisco on Apri 10, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits in 5 innings.
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY Frisco, 7:10 p.m. FRIDAY Frisco, 7:10 p.m. SATURDAY Frisco, 7:10 p.m. SUNDAY Midland, 6:10 p.m. MONDAY Midland, 7:10 p.m. TUESDAY Midland, 7:10 p.m. WEDNESDAY Off
“You’re like ‘Oh my God, get this going,’ ” said Smith, now in his second season with the Arkansas Travelers.
Luckily for Smith, and some fans who may not have three hours to invest at the ballpark, rules have been put in place this season in the hope of eliminating delays and making the games more enjoyable to fans.
The Travs play their home opener at 7:10 p.m. today at Dickey-Stephens Park against the Frisco RoughRiders, and if fans look closely, they’ll spot a few new additions to the park.
Two clocks have been installed behind home plate and another on the wall in the bullpen in right field. They were sent to every Class AAA and AA park by Minor League Baseball to monitor the pace of play in the hope of eliminating some wasted time that Major League Baseball officials are convinced could chase fans away.
Those time-wasting practice swings and adjustments to helmets and batting gloves between pitches can’t take more than 20 seconds or the batter will be charged with a strike. Slow-working pitchers can’t take more than 20 seconds to get into the set position between pitches or they will be charged with a ball.
Time between innings is now limited to 2 minutes, 25 seconds — the offender will be penalized the same as between pitches — and the same time will be allotted for pitching changes.
7:10 p.m., Frisco RoughRiders, Dickey-Stephens Park, North Little Rock
The larger idea, Texas League President Tom Kayser said, is to change habits so the rule might not have to be adopted on the Major League level. But if it ever is, those in the big leagues by then will have become accustomed to playing against the clock.
“If we can help train players to do things in a deliberate manner and not dawdle, that’s fine,” Kayser said. “We’ll do our best to reinforce the notion of let’s go, move along, we don’t want dead time.”
April has been dubbed a trial period and penalties won’t be enforced until May 1, but when they are, most don’t expect the product on the field to be altered much.
Smith said he likes to work quick between pitches anyway, but expects some hitters who require time to step out of the box to regroup to have a bit of an adjustment.
“It’s going to be just as tough on them as it is us,” he said.
Second baseman Sherman Johnson said the time limits are set to where players should be ready without penalty, adding that the sight of the clock on the field might be as big an adjustment as anything.
“I just figured baseball is unique,” Johnson said. “It’s the only game that didn’t have a clock, and I didn’t think they’d ever mess with it.”
Travs Manager Bill Richardson said he thinks there could be issues with an overzealous umpire being too strict with the rules.
“You’re going to get a yahoo who thinks they’re going to get to the big leagues quicker by administering these things,” Richardson said. “Then we’re going to have some issues. Other than that, I don’t think there will be any issues.”
The clocks made their way to Dickey-Stephens and other minor league parks after much debate about the pace of games by major league officials over the winter. Former Commissioner Bud Selig appointed a committee to look at the issue last year and new Commissioner Rob Manfred maintains it’s an issue worth pursuing.
Former manager Joe Torre, now chief baseball officer for Major League Baseball who served on the committee, told MLB.com in November that the issue isn’t the length of the games, but rather “eliminating dead time.” The clock was tested last year in the Arizona Fall League and Torre said “you really get to a point to where you don’t even notice it.”
Clocks in major league parks are likely a long way off. Kayser said the implementation might have to be included in an updated collective bargaining agreement. That means the kinks are left to be worked out in North Little Rock and other minor league parks.
Kayser said some teams had to work through equipment quirks the first week of the season, and most are bracing for an eventual mistake brought upon by human error. The clocks will be operated from the press box by an operator paid for by the Texas League. Travs General Manager Paul Allen said Dickey-Stephens Park has a rotation of three operators.
“With something new, it’s to be expected that something will go wrong,” Allen said. “It’s something that we’re all teaching ourselves.”
Kayser has the power to fine clubs for taking too long between innings, but they can avoid penalty if the league is informed in advance of special promotions, like the Travs’ Clunker Car Night, in which junk cars are given away between innings.
That means the new way in which officials want the game to be played can coexist with how teams are promoting their product.
“Everything evolves,” Kayser said. “When I started, the people that came to the ballpark were 100 percent baseball fans, but there wasn’t anything else that was bringing them except for the occasional giveaway.
“We’re selling baseball differently at the minor league level than we used to. And there’s nothing bad about that. It’s just different.”