The Pitch Clock Has Been the Star of the Show

The Yankees took two of three from the Phillies to complete a 4-2 season-opening homestand. Good start, but now they hit the road for three in Baltimore and three in Cleveland and none of that is going to be easy.

Now, on to other news. The announcement I referenced the other day is this: You’re going to get some bonus content in Pinstripe People this year. Starting Wednesday, April 12, and running every Wednesday thereafter into December, you will be transported back to 2003 and 2004 to relive the most dramatic, heated and exciting two-year period in the long and bitter rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox.

The new project is entitled Hardball Hyperbole and the way I’m doing this is I’m recapping, chronologically of course, every regular-season series they played, and doing individual chapters on every postseason game they played. I’m having a great time researching and writing, and I think you’re really going to enjoy it.

The pitch clock is awesome. I mean it is absolutely, 100 percent awesome and if anyone is still lamenting its existence, no offense, but you need to have your faculties examined.

I consider myself a baseball purist, but I have never subscribed to the theory that part of baseball’s beauty and allure was that there was no clock like football, basketball and hockey. The argument was that being timeless and relaxed is why it’s the perfect summer game (even though only half the season is actually played in the summer).

And that was fine when many of us were growing up because the players played the game the way it was meant to be played. And then Mike Hargrove, the appropriately-nicknamed Human Rain Delay, came along in the mid-1970s and introduced the art form of adjusting his batting gloves, his helmet, his jock, and of taking deep cleansing breaths to clear his mind and perhaps consider what he was going to eat at the post-game buffet. After every damn pitch!

Slowly but surely this blight on baseball began to catch on and by the 21st century, almost all of the players - batters and pitchers alike - conspired to ruin the game with their individual rituals and mental exercises which added dozens of minutes to games. And that, more than anything, is why an entire generation of kids ignored baseball because of its combination of glacial pace and lack of action.

In 1972, the average time of game across all of MLB was 2 hours, 27 minutes. In 1982 it was 2:40, in 1992 it was 2:54, in 2002 it was 2:56, in 2012 it was 3:00, and in 2022 it was 3:06 (that was actually down from the all-time high of 3:11 in 2021).

Thankfully, the powers to be led by Rob Manfred decided enough was enough and the pitch clock and other new rules were introduced. So far this year, the average length of games is 2:38. Beautiful.

The Yankees first six games have lasted 2:33, 3:12, 2:27, 2:41, 2:45 and 2:30. In 2022, the first six games lasted 3:56 (11 innings), 2:58, 3:40, 3:03, 3:07 and 3:10. If you do the rough math, we have already saved more than 3 ½ hours of our lives and that’s just across six games. Last year, the Yankees played only 22 games that took 2:45 or less and this year, five of the first six were 2:45 or less.

If that doesn’t make you smile, check this out: The Marlins beat the Twins 1-0 on Tuesday in a tremendously pitched game that saw a total of just six hits and two walks. They played it in 1 hour, 57 minutes, which is exactly what one would expect for a game with so little action and no mid-inning pitching changes. But last year, and any year in the past 30, even that game would have taken at least 20 or 30 minutes longer to play because of all the dead time created by the players.

Most of the players are having no trouble adjusting to the clock because so many of them have already experienced it in the minors where it has been in use for several years. Naturally, the spoiled veteran big leaguers - San Diego’s Manny Machado for instance - have done some chirping, and what I would say to them is “These are the rules, shut up and adjust.”

When the NBA instituted the 24-second shot clock in 1954, I’m sure some guys were pissed and then guess what, they all adjusted and the NBA went on to become one of the most popular sports leagues in the world.

And all this talk I’ve heard about how awful it would be to have a playoff game end because of a clock violation that either resulted in a strikeout to kill a rally, or a walk that forced in the winning run. To which I say, bullshit again. The players know the rules, and they will have had all season to get used to them before October rolls around. Be ready to pitch, be ready to hit, and all will be fine.

➤ Two series victories to open the season for the Yankees and this was a good one. The Giants aren’t very good, but the Phillies - even with the bad start they’ve had - are a good team and it’s probably a break that the Yankees got them early like this.

➤ That was a hell of a series for Gleyber Torres. He reached base in all five plate appearances - two hits including his 100th career home run, and three walks - stole a base and scored twice on Monday. He had a hit and a walk Tuesday, and then Wednesday he was 3-for-4, stole two bases and drove in two runs. Six games in and he’s batting .421 with five stolen bases. If he keeps this up, I might have to stop wishing the Yankees trade him. “There’s a lot of calm up there to what he’s doing right now,” Aaron Boone said. “Every at-bat has been super-competitive.”

➤ Josh Donaldson suffered some type of hamstring injury. Sorry to be a jerk here, but this is not something that will keep me up at night. I can’t see why the Yankees would miss him for however long he’s out. Now D.J. LeMahieu can just slide in there full time at third and Torres can play the bulk of the games at second.

➤ In his first two appearances Michael King has allowed two runs of his own and has allowed two inherited runs to score on eight hits and a walk in three innings. Not good for a guy the Yankees really need.

➤ As I sort of expected, Anthony Volpe is starting to struggle a bit at the plate- he’s now 3-for-17 in the No. 9 hole. Some people thought Boone should bat him leadoff, but he’s not ready for that. However, Boone has to keep playing him and let him gain experience and grow.

➤ I think the Yankees’ no facial hair policy is antiquated and outdated and it’s just goofy that, as grown men in this day and age, they can’t wear at least a tight, well-groomed beard if they choose. That said, Brandon Marsh of the Phillies makes homeless men under the bridge look well kept. Seriously, he looks like someone who has been stranded on a deserted island for 20 years with his long, greasy hair and beard. Again, I’m certainly no prude and I’m definitely not a member of the fashion police, but some of the grooming choices these guys make today are unsavory to say the least.

Here are my observations on the three games against the Giants.

April 3: Yankees 8, Phillies 1

➤ By this point, the always patient and rational fans of Philly were probably losing their minds because their defending NL champions fell to 0-4 and had been outscored 37-12. Then again, if the Yankees had gotten off to this start, we’d be losing our minds, too.

➤ The fifth inning was something, wasn’t it? In the top half, the Phillies were down 3-1 and threatening to make it a game, but Nestor Cortes did Nestor Cortes things and Philadelphia got no closer. Cortes wasn’t great in this game as he gave up seven hits, but unlike Clarke Schmidt, Cortes can get guys out when he needs to, some way or another. And in this case, it was with a tremendous heads up play on defense. J.T. Realmuto hit a two-out single to right and Marsh came steaming around third, then was stopped by the third-base coach at the last instant. However, somehow through all that hair he saw Franchy Cordero’s awful throw sailing way over the head of catcher Jose Trevino so he held up before retreating back to third, thinking he might be able to score. Mistake. Cortes was backing up the play and he caught the ball and fired it to LeMahieu at third and he slapped a tag on Marsh for the third out. “That was a big play,’’ Boone said. “Who knows where that inning goes if he isn’t there.”

➤ Fired up by that, the offense scored five runs in the bottom half to blow the game open. Anthony Rizzo hit a long two-run homer, Cordero delivered his first Yankee hit with a two-run double, and Trevino had an RBI single.

➤ Aaron Hicks whining about his lack of playing time over the weekend, and then getting his first start and going 0-for-4 was on brand. The Phillies brought in reliever Yunior Marte in the fifth and the guy couldn’t have gotten you or me out, but he got Hicks out. All of that aforementioned damage came against Marte as he faced seven batters and six reached - three hits, three walks - with the exception being Hicks who struck out. What a bum.

➤ Decent debut for reliever Ian Hamilton who was called up from Triple-A when Jhony Brito was sent down because the Yankees don’t need a fifth starter until next week in Cleveland. Hamilton has a nice pitch mix with his fastball, slider and changeup. He gave up three hits in 1.2 innings, but no runs.

BOX SCORE

April 4: Phillies 4, Yankees 1

➤ The 1988 Orioles are safe and their record 0-21 start lives on because by winning the middle game Tuesday, the Phillies became the final team to earn a victory in 2023. Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray and company can rest easy.

➤ Domingo German wasn’t terrible in his first start, it only looked bad because his teammates let him down in the fifth inning. He struck out eight batters and did not walk anyone, but he gave up solo bombs to Kyle Schwarber in the first and Marsh in the third and they didn’t get cheated. Schwarber’s traveled 415 feet, Marsh’s 436.

➤ In the fifth, German was charged with the final two Philly runs, but he didn’t deserve that fate. With a man on first and one out, Marsh hit a ball up the middle and Volpe should have had an easy inning-ending double play. He was shaded toward the bag so all he had to do was field the ball, step on second and throw to first. Instead, he bobbled it and could only get the force at second, and that opened the door for Philly. Garrett Stubbs followed with a single, so Boone brought in King and for the second game in a row, he stunk. He quickly gave up RBI singles to Trea Turner and Schwarber that made it 4-0.

➤ Turns out that was way more than the Phillies needed on this night because the Yankees offense was invisible. Another of the Phillies who is apparently in a contest to see who can grow the longest, dumbest looking hair on the team, starter Matt Strahm, mesmerized the Yankees. Strahm pitched four one-hit shutout innings, then three more relievers handled the next four innings, also allowing no runs on one hit. Finally, with Craig Kimbrel on to close it, the Yankees threatened in the ninth. LeMahieu hit a solo homer, Judge walked, and Giancarlo Stanton singled. Alas, up came the utterly useless Donaldson as the tying run and of course he fouled out to end the game.

➤ Another fine night for Hicks who started in left again and went 0-for-3. He and Donaldson are now 2-for-23 combined through six games.

BOX SCORE

April 5: Yankees 4, Phillies 2

➤ Gerrit Cole was dominant again. Just one run on three hits and three walks (one of which came via a 3-2 pitch clock violation when he and Trevino couldn’t get on the same page). He also struck out eight in 6.1 innings. This is who Cole has to be given that he’s sharing the rotation with Schmidt, German and Brito. He has to be an ace every time out and so far, he’s 2-for-2.

➤ Great job to get the lead in the first as Judge singled, then stole second with two outs which gave Torres a chance, and Torres came through with an RBI single off Philly ace Aaron Nola who was very good in this game. Situational baseball, gotta love it.

➤ The Yankees made a great defensive play in the fourth when Cordero fielded Darick Hall’s single to right and gunned him down trying to stretch it into a double. The throw was a bit off line, but Volpe made a great catch and tag to complete the play which ended the inning and saved Cole some pitches. In the seventh, Isiah Kiner-Falefa made a nice play, too, after replacing Donaldson. The Phillies had just scored to get within 2-1 and he backhanded a grounder down the line by Josh Harrison with men on first and second and two outs and was able to beat Bryson Stott to the bag to end the threat.

➤ Right after that in the bottom half, Oswaldo Cabrera worked a walk and Trevino came through with a big two-out, two-run homer that proved to be the difference.

➤ I wasn’t thrilled with Jonathan Loaisiga allowing an inherited runner to score, just like King did on Tuesday. And then he got tagged for a home run by Schwarber in the eighth. Not great. However, Clay Holmes pitched a superb ninth to close it out.

BOX SCORE

➤ April 5, 1977: George Steinbrenner had spent the spring saying Fred Stanley could not be the Yankees every-day shortstop, the job he’d held for much of 1975 and 1976. The man nicknamed “The Chicken” was the prototypical good-glove, no-hit type of shortstop for that era, a mold that was eventually broken a few years later by Baltimore’s Cal Ripken.

Stanley was a 5-foot-10, 165-pound career .216 hitter with no pop, not to mention the fact that his error in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the 1976 World Series led to the Cincinnati Reds scoring the game-winning run in a 4-3 victory which, as you might imagine, roiled the Boss.

On a team filled with stars, Steinbrenner could not put up with Stanley any longer, and young Mickey Klutts had proven throughout spring training that he wasn’t ready to step into the full-time role. So, Steinbrenner harangued general manager Gabe Paul into finding a suitable replacement. At the cost of wild-haired outfielder Oscar Gamble and two fringe players, Paul acquired Bucky Dent from the Chicago White Sox.

“I left spring training very happy,” said a distraught Stanley. “I was going to prove last year was not a fluke. I was going to prove I’m as good a ballplayer as I think I am. And here I am again.”

Dent was about equal to Stanley as a fielder, but in four years with the Sox he had a batting average of .260. Also, Steinbrenner had actually met Dent in 1976 while attending an NBA game in Chicago, and the two hit it off. That’s all George needed.

When he arrived this week 46 years ago, the first thing manager Billy Martin said to him was, “Get a haircut. And be ready to go; you’re in there tomorrow.”

Meaning Opening Day, and while Dent went 0-for-3 in a 3-0 victory over Milwaukee, he would eventually hit .247 in 1977 and also belted a career-high eight home runs. You may have heard about the eighth one he hit that season. The three-run shot in the seventh inning over the Green Monster at Fenway Park that helped the Yankees win the special one-game playoff against the Red Sox, a blow that earned him a new middle name in New England.

➤ Tampa Bay 6-0: I’m sure if there are any Rays fans in this world, they’d agree it was nice of MLB to allow Tampa Bay to start its season playing three Triple-A teams, the Tigers, the Nationals and the A’s. The Rays swept the Tigers and Nationals and are now 6-0, having outscored those two schlub teams by 44-13. Next up are the A’s at that mausoleum they call the Trop. Weak schedule or not, as I’ve said right along, the Rays are the team I think will win the AL East. They’re as good as they are annoying, which is saying something.

➤ Toronto 3-3: The Jays’ dangerous bats haven’t quite woken up, but that didn’t really matter against the lowly Royals. Wednesday, Alek Manoah threw seven one-hit shutout innings in a 3-0 victory. They finish that series Thursday and then continue on their season-opening 10-game roadie as they head to Anaheim to play the Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout Angels.

➤ Baltimore 3-3: The Orioles won the first two games in Texas before dropping the finale 5-2 on Wednesday. Grayson Rodriguez, one of their top prospects, was called up to make his MLB debut and after allowing two runs in the first inning he got through five innings without allowing another. However, reliever Austin Voth gave up three runs in the sixth and seventh and that was enough for Jacob deGrom to earn his first victory for Texas.

➤Boston 2-4: Yikes. The Red Sox were swept by the Pirates at Fenway. They scored five runs in the first inning of the opener Monday yet wound up losing 7-6 as starter Kutter Crawford was awful. Tuesday they had only four hits in a 4-1 loss, and then Wednesday they had only five hits in another 4-1 loss. The Pirates were supposed to be easy. Maybe the Tigers will be as Boston will be in Detroit for three this weekend.

The Orioles home opener against the Yankees was supposed to happen Thursday but it was rained out so the teams open the series at 3:05 Friday. Clarke Schmidt will face Cole Irvin. On Saturday it’s Cortes against Dean Kremer for a 7:05 game, and then Sunday’s 1:35 finale is German against an undetermined Baltimore starter.

After giving up nine runs in all three games against Boston, the Orioles pitched much better in Texas. Against a very good Rangers offense, the Orioles shut them out 2-0 in the opener, and that was despite starter Kyle Bradish leaving after taking a liner off his foot in the second inning. Tyler Wells, who was supposed to start Tuesday, stepped in and pitched five hitless innings.

Tuesday, Kyle Gibson was very good for seven innings and was backed by homers from Ryan Mountcastle and Jorge Mateo. And then Rodriguez showed why the Orioles are so high on him when he bounced back from the rough first inning and pitched four scoreless.

I was saying this last year, that the Orioles are a team on the rise and they are. Catcher Adley Rutschman is already a star, third baseman Gunnar Henderson is going to be even though he’s hitting .125 to start the year, and they have some other nice players like Mountcastle at first, Mateo at short, center fielder Cedric Mullins, right fielder Anthony Santander and left fielder Austin Hays. These guys are no longer pushovers.