PEORIA, Ariz. — San Diego Padres All-Star third baseman Manny Machado became the first major league player in history Friday to have a strike called on him before he stepped into the batter’s box.
Padres reliever Ryan Weathers had an electronic device on his belt continually shouting out the complete opposite pitch he was throwing.
And what used to be routine double plays with infields shifts morphed into hits before the stunned crowd.
Oh, what a gorgeous day, with the Seattle Mariners and Padres showing the world just what baseball will look like in this new era of rule changes.
Major League Baseball executives, ranging from everyone to vice presidents Morgan Sword and Michael Hill to Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre to future Hall of Fame executive Theo Epstein, were absolutely ecstatic watching what unfolded before their eyes.
“It was a great, great day,’’ said Sword said. “We saw the game fans want.’’
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The tale of the tape in the Mariners’ 3-2 victory over the Padres:
18 hits25 baserunners.5 runs.One stolen base.Time of game: 2:29.
It may have been the first spring-training game in modern history where the sellout crowd of 9,887 at the Peoria Sports Complex stayed until the finish, double-checking their watches trying to fathom how the game ended so quickly.
There was not a single pitcher who left the dirt during the game.
No hitter stepped out and adjusted his batters’ gloves.
There was not a single note of walk-up music.
And, when it was all over, there really were no complaints.
Certainly, Machado doesn’t plan to make a habit of having a called strike on him every game before he steps to the plate, but, hey, at least he knows his usual routine will have to be modified.
Machado was just getting into the box, tapping home-plate umpire Ryan Blakney’s shin guard out of respect, when Blakney said: “Hurry, Manny.’’
“I thought I had enough time, I was doing my thing, and he says, “You got two seconds left,’’’ Machado said. “I looked up, Damn, it goes by fast.’’
And just like that, Blakney threw up his hand: Strike 1.
“I’m going in the Hall of Fame I guess …’’ Machado said. ‘We’re in the record books at least. That’s a good one.’’
Hall of Fame president Josh Rawitch indeed was on hand, collecting the first official scorecard from the historic game, but sorry, there was no request for Machado’s bat or cleats.
At least not yet.
“This,’’ Machado says, “is going to be fun.’’
The new rules stipulate that pitchers must deliver the pitch within 15 seconds, and hitters must be in the box and engaged with the pitcher within eight seconds.
If the pitcher takes too long, Ball 1.
If the hitter takes too long, Strike 1.
“I think the biggest impact will be stepping into that box,’’ Machado says, “you like to hear your walk-up song. Some people like to draw things in the ground.
“The little things that have been around for a long time, kind of go out the door. There are a lot of things we do that you can’t do anymore.’’
Sorry, there will be no more time for dilly-dallying. Get on the mound. Get in the batter’s box. And let’s get it on.
“It was fun, fast,’’ said Padres starter Nick Martinez, who will pitch for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. “I definitely felt it. There are times when I try to slow things down, and I didn’t really get that opportunity, so it will be a little tricky.
“But there were times where I thought the hitter was rushed too. I could sense that he was hurrying up there to step in there.
“There’s definitely going to be an adjustment period.’’
Now that time is of the essence, pitchers heavily relied on the electronic PitchCom device, with pitchers and catchers calling pitches almost immediately after the previous pitch.
“I feel like it’s pretty useless to use fingers nowadays,’’ said Mariners starter Robbie Ray, “because of the PitchCom. The second I threw a pitch, [Mariners catcher Tom] Murphy was throwing it back to me and I had the next pitch I was going to throw.
“It’s way easier, way faster, it was great.’’
Well, maybe not so much for the left-handed Weathers, whose elbow kept hitting the PitchCom device on his delivery.
“My elbow kept nicking the button every time,’’ Weathers said. “Every time my elbow would hit it, it would say some random pitch: “Screwball. Curveball. Cutter. We started laughing.
“I threw about 35 pitches, and must have hit it on about 30 pitches. It was so annoying.’’
Next time out, yep, the PitchCom will be on a different spot on his belt.
Players have a month to make adjustments before opening day, but if Friday provided a snapshot of what is ahead, the changes could have all of the desired effects.
It took one ground ball from Padres outfielder Juan Soto in the first inning to the right of second baseman Kolten Wong to remind everyone what the game used to look like before all of the shifts.
Instead of a routine double-play ball with the usual shift on Soto, it was a single, with Wong being the only player who had a chance to snare it.
“It’s going to be a lot of offense for sure,’’ Machado says, “not being able to shift. Those infielders have to have two feet in the dirt, so that’s going to be tough for those middle infielders. The lefties are going to love it.
“It’s going to be cool to see more offense, more first to third, more runs, and you’re going to see some pretty good defense.’’
Wong, 32, a two-time Gold Glove winner, says he embraces the change of having only two infielders on each side of the bag, just like the game was originally designed.
“I’m excited about the not shifting part,’’ Wong says. “Sometimes, you get too many guys on one side, it gets a little crowded. You’re not able to do your thing and just go get it.’’
Mariners manager Scott Servais and Padres manager Bob Melvin loved the pace of the game, particularly in the early innings, with MLB executives praising the work of the umpires.
“It was clear that the umpires and the players are ready to go,’’ Sword says. “That was a big credit to them. We are going to hit the ground running in spring training if the other games go like this one.’’
Really, there was only one question that each team wanted to know when the game was over.
What happens to the walk-up songs?
“Are they gone forever?’’ Servais asked.
Nope, Sword says, they’ll still be played in ballparks during the season, but only for 10 seconds.
The song will start with 30 seconds on the clock and end with 20 seconds on the clock.
“By the time they put your music on,’’ Machado says, “I don’t think there will ever be [time for] any music. People like to at least start it. …
“Who knows where this leads?’’
Machado broke into a slow, expansive grin, contemplating all of the new changes, and said:
“It’s going to be interesting year, for sure.’’
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