Major League Baseball’s new pitch clock is either a godsend for the sport or ruining the game, depending on who you talk to. For New York Mets ace Max Scherzer, it was a little of both Friday.
Scherzer made news earlier this spring for saying he’d use that new clock to his advantage in order to “mess with the hitter’s timing.” That, combined with PitchCom technology that connects pitchers and catchers without the use of hand signals, gives the 15-year veteran a new edge to test when it comes to shutting down opposing offenses.
But Friday, that new rule wiped out a double play that would have helped Scherzer out of an early jam in a spring training showdown with the Washington Nationals.
Max Scherzer had a double play wiped away because of a pitch clock violation pic.twitter.com/KiQX1HXsAv
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 3, 2023
With runners at the corners, Scherzer failed to deliver his 0-0 pitch to Nationals catcher Riley Adams before the 20 second time limit expired. As a result, his soft grounder to third base and the two outs that followed were wiped off the scorecard and replaced with a ball. That took a run off the scoreboard for Washington and briefly looked like it would be a moot point after Adams struck out — a strikeout that came after Scherzer got him with a little pitch clock subterfuge.
Max Scherzer, Pitch Clock Gamesmanship.
Long hold. Adams takes his only time out.
Then Max stays set so he can pitch as soon as Adams is ready. pic.twitter.com/3uj9ucDFEl
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 3, 2023
Instead, it was the precursor to disaster. An RBI groundout, single and home run helped chase the veteran starter in what would become an eight-run inning for the Nats. Scherzer’s final line included seven runs allowed, but a pair of errors from shortshop Luis Guillorme ensured those were unearned.
