MLB Cracks Down on José Caballero’s Pitch Clock Routine

Major League Baseball has taken action against New York Yankees shortstop José Caballero for his conduct during games. MLB has deemed his pattern of waiting until the last moment to engage the pitcher as deceptive. On Wednesday, umpires charged Caballero with a pitch-clock violation during the sixth inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, which led to the ejection of the Yankees’ hitting coach, James Rowson. The Yankees lost the doubleheader opener 5-3 in 10 innings.

Caballero believes he is being unfairly targeted. He remarked, “I’ve seen other guys do some other things and they don’t call anything on them. They’re just picking on me.” Acquired from Tampa Bay on July 31, Yankees manager Aaron Boone admitted that his opinion of Caballero drastically changed after the trade, stating, “He was a pest and I didn’t like it. Now I like him because he’s a good player and he’s on our side.”

On June 14, during a game in Toronto, Caballero was warned by plate umpire Steven Jaschinsk for his deliberate timing before the eight-second pitch clock mark. This led to a two-minute delay involving a discussion between Caballero, Jaschinski, Boone, and crew chief John Tumpane. Further tension arose in the series opener against the Pirates when reliever Dennis Santana confronted Caballero for his slow approach in the batter’s box.

On Wednesday, plate umpire Quinn Wolcott cited Caballero’s time-taking routine as unprecedented, stating, “He’s not allowed to do an inordinate amount of time looking down, trying to get the pitcher to cause a violation.” Wolcott emphasized that no other player uses such extended time without making eye contact with the pitcher.

MLB introduced the pitch clock in 2023 to shorten game times. Based on its regulations, conduct by batters to deceive a pitcher into a violation is prohibited. Crew chief Adrian Johnson acknowledged that MLB’s decision followed a tense confrontation in the series opener, leading to MLB’s directive to enforce the rules without warning.

Boone expressed discontent with MLB’s lack of communication before adjusting their stance on Caballero’s conduct. He advised Caballero to look up before the nine-second mark to comply with pitch clock regulations. However, Caballero feels misunderstood, explaining, “They were making new rules today and it’s on me because I was deceiving or something like that to the pitcher, which doesn’t make sense.”

Caballero insists on his intent to maintain a consistent routine, urging analysis of his last numerous at-bats to verify his consistency. He also highlighted MLB’s 2023 memo advising batters to keep a foot in the batter’s box, dubbed “the Willson rule” after Willson Contreras.

Concerned about timing, Caballero feels controlled by the pitchers, stating, “If I get in the box and they have 16, 17 seconds left, they can hold the ball on me all that time and I’d be tied up.” Caballero stresses the difficulty in altering his approach, which he considers essential to his performance.

More coverage of MLB can be found at AP MLB.