Braves minor leaguer weighs pros, cons of pitch clock: 'Overall, not a fan'
Atlanta Braves minor-league pitcher Tucker Davidson has some notes on his experience playing with a pitch clock, and they don't make for a ringing endorsement.
Currently stationed at Triple-A Gwinnett, the 26-year-old has been playing in games that use a pitch clock for roughly a month. MLB introduced a new pitch clock at Triple-A this season: a 14-second timer that increases to 19 seconds if a runner is on base. Davidson took to Twitter on Friday to share his perspective.
"Overall, not a fan," he wrote.
Davidson broke down his argument in an 11-tweet series. He did acknowledge early that the new rule is working to improve pace of play. But he believes it's led to some questionable results, including a game won due to a pitcher violating the clock and a hitter striking out after failing to return to the batter's box fast enough.
1.) Pace of Play is very quick. The numbers don’t lie games are shorter. We played 2 games under 2 hours last week, we won due to a pitcher not throwing pitch in time and We strikeout to end inning due not being set in box with runners on. It’s been an adjustment.
— Tucker Davidson (@tucktuck6) April 29, 2022
He also argued that the potential for controversial rule violations to spoil dramatic late-game moments would make MLB less fun for spectators:
10) those BIGG moments. The moments you remember from the game can be taken away due to Mike Trout not being set with 9 secs left on the clock.. Taking the bat out of your stars hands will only hurt the game. For me it’a still a tricky subject.
— Tucker Davidson (@tucktuck6) April 29, 2022
Despite his criticisms, Davidson noted the clock is a step in the right direction and suggested players may merely need more time than is currently given:
4.) How could it improve? With runners on base… more time but not by much. From 19 to 24secs. With nobody on 14sec is quick but not much of a impact In-between pitches. Both parties would benefit for the additional time so call it 17 or 18.
— Tucker Davidson (@tucktuck6) April 29, 2022
Davidson has pitched 24 1/3 major-league innings over his career, including 2 2/3 innings this season. The left-hander has a 5.55 ERA and 5.34 FIP over three seasons while making appearances as a starter and reliever.
He owns a 4.70 ERA and 4.96 FIP in 15 1/3 innings (three starts) in the minors this year.
MLB has been testing pitch clocks at different minor-league levels for a few years. It could introduce a pitch clock in the majors as early as next season.