Baseball: Naturals adapt to pitch clock

SPRINGDALE -- Donnie Dewees a got quick introduction to Double-A baseball.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals outfielder stepped into the left-handed batter's box leading off the bottom of the first inning in the season opener against San Antonio. But before he could finish digging a hole for his back foot in the box, home plate umpire Reid Gibbs admonished him about taking too much time.

The 23-year-old, who was playing his first game in Double-A, got a quick lesson in pace of play. Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has pushed the initiative to the forefront to increase the speed in which the games are played. A pitch clock was instituted in Double-A and Triple-A minor league baseball beginning in 2015 in order to speed up the game.

Dewees wasn't thrilled with his first brush with the initiative, but he understands the idea.

"I get the rule, I understand it and I like it," he said. "But there's gotta be some lean to it. It's not like every at-bat I'm going to be in there taking 45 seconds. The only time it affected me was my first at-bat.

"I was the first lefty and nothing's been done on that side and there's a lot of loose dirt. I didn't get the opportunity to do that and I didn't think that's right. I completely agree for the rest of the game and between pitches. But I didn't have time to finish what I was doing and the umpire was already on my back."

Dewees wasn't penalized on the play, but under the rules he could have started the at-bat with a strike by violating the 30-second clock. On the flip side, umpires may start an at-bat with a ball if the pitcher does not deliver a pitch before the 20-second clock elapses.

Naturals starting pitcher Zach Lovvorn, who also made his Double-A debut in the season-opener against San Antonio, had no trouble with the pitch clock. Naturals pitching coach Steve Luebber visited with him and the other pitchers who were new to Double-A before the season began. By his results, the right-hander hasn't been hampered by the clock. He's 1-1 in three starts with a 2.04 ERA.

"He just let it be known that if we didn't deliver it in time that it would be a ball against us," Lovvorn said. "It didn't put an added pressure. It just put it in the back of my mind. It just added a little urgency."

The Naturals have adhered to the rules as well as any team over the last two years, and better than most in the Texas League. According to data obtained from minor league baseball, Northwest Arkansas had just seven violations out of the 71 called in the Texas League last season. Only Corpus Christi had fewer. In 2015, the Naturals had just five violations. Every other team in the Texas League had at least 12.

Northwest Arkansas manager Vance Wilson said those numbers are more of a reflection of trying to instill overall discipline, rather than specifically concentrating on the clock.

"One we keep our guys in the box, we tell them be ready to play," Wilson said. "That's more a direct reflection of what happens. It's not like 'hey, make sure the pitch clock doesn't get us.' Just a matter of being on top of things. It is what it is and we'll deal with it and won't let it affect us. Whether you like it or not, it's here."

Wilson said the only issues his team's had with the clock is related to inconsistencies of enforcement by the umpires and the different clock operators.

"The differences between the clock operators I think has been the biggest thing when we've been banged," Wilson said. "If you're three seconds off, that's like one-seventh of the time. It's not anyone's fault. It's the human element.

"As far as the umpires, I've had crews tell me it's not a penalty clock, it's a pace of game clock. When you did it that way, it helps the game along. Then you have some umpires who think it's a penalty clock. Nobody's ever asked me my opinion, but I think if you keep the hitter in the box, the pace of game flows. If the hitter's in the box, the pitcher is on the mound ready to throw. If the hitter's out of the box, the pitcher gets off the mound."

Reid Gibbs, an umpire in his second season in the Texas League and a crew chief, called the work to improve pace a work in progress. He said communication between umpiring crews and with the clock operators is a key to getting consistency in enforcing the rules.

"Obviously it's something they are focusing on," Gibbs said. "In order to do that, you have to invoke some consequences. But there are a lot of moving parts. We're certainly supportive of it and will do whatever we can to see we get the games sped up."

Dusty Dellinger, director of umpire development in minor league baseball, said there were what he called "heavy talks" to decrease the pitch clock from 20 to 15 seconds this season, but ultimately that didn't happen.

"We looked at data that said on average a pitch is released well under that 15-second mark," Dellinger said. "It was on average between nine and 11 seconds. I talked to someone from the (Philadelphia) Phillies organization who said they wanted a pitch delivered by 13 seconds. So reducing the clock may come back into play next year."

Wilson, a former Major League catcher, believes the pace of the game has improved, but he's not sure if that's a direct result of the clock.

"I think it's helped because they are enforcing the box," Wilson said. "Now whether the clock's done that or the clock's made the umpires stay on it, I don't know one or the other."

Dewees likes the intent of the rule, but he also understands it's not going way.

"It didn't like mess me up mentally my first at-bat," Dewees said. "It was a little bit of a nuisance. I've had the same routine for six or seven years and I know I'm not the only one -- now I'm gonna have to change it."

Sports on 04/20/2017