This isn’t how the pace-of-play timer is supposed to work.
It’s actually a clear example for arbiters of what not to do when enforcing it.
During the initial frame of Monday’s contest between the Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals, Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki swung and missed at a 3-1 breaking ball from Royals pitcher Noah Cameron. The sphere deflected off the ground near Suzuki’s feet and directly into, as is often phrased, Suzuki’s lower abdomen.
We’re all aware of where it made contact — the sensitive area.
Fortunately for Suzuki, the impact seemed slight. Nevertheless, even a slight impact warrants at least a brief pause, which Suzuki used to recover.
By the time Suzuki was prepared to re-enter the batter’s box — within a perfectly reasonable duration, considering the circumstances — the pitch timer had run out. And home plate umpire Clint Vondrak cited Suzuki for a pitch-timer infraction. The consequence for the infraction was the third strike of Suzuki’s turn at bat, concluding the inning.
Suzuki, admirably, calmly proceeded to the dugout without objecting. Cubs manager Craig Counsell left the dugout to argue on Suzuki’s behalf.
Counsell motioned toward his own lower abdomen while attempting to highlight the absurdity of the scenario to Vondrak. When a baseball player is struck in the, shall we say, groin, by a baseball, they should automatically be given some time to return to the batter’s box.
There’s no specific struck-in-the-groin exception outlined in MLB’s pace-of-play rules. There doesn’t need to be. The instant the ball hits a batter’s groin should be the trigger for a timeout. Suzuki shouldn’t need to request one. It’s just logical.
The rulebook allows an umpire to use logic.
“Umpires can grant additional time if justified by particular circumstances,” the rulebook indicates.
This qualified as a particular circumstance. But Vondrak chose to disregard it. Either that, or he overlooked what occurred and didn’t bother to understand the situation. Either way, he’s accountable.
