DENVER (AP) — Home plate used to be a place where the sociable Brandon Crawford would touch base with catchers and umpires.
Just a casual conversation to catch up: How’s the family? What’s up? That sort of thing.
These days, the San Francisco Giants infielder keeps the chatter to a minimum. There’s simply no spare time for small talk while on a pitch clock.
Because that 15 seconds between pitches — 20 when someone’s on base — goes by fast at the plate. The penalty for idle chatter could be stiff — a called strike on the hitter.
Social hour just has to wait.
“You have to figure out a different time to get your conversations in, whether it’s pregame or going to dinner or breakfast,” Crawford said.
The pitch clock hasn’t just made baseball quicker. It’s quieter now, too. There’s no real chance to talk shop on the bases with former teammates, good friends or umpires. Batters only get 30 seconds between at-bats to get set.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts can’t even imagine the strikes he might’ve had called on him if he was playing under these rules. He’s well known for his affable personality and would always greet the home-plate umpire when he batted, along with the catcher. He’d carry it right over to the bases, too, when he got aboard.
“Some guys are having a little harder time with it,” Roberts said of cutting back on conversations. “I think the salutations and stuff like that have to be more minimized.”
Roberts joked that he could strategize around his gift for gab — maybe engage players he knows before they dig into the box.
“Try to get his attention and get that clock going,” Roberts cracked.
The players, though, are starting to realize that silence is golden. This is no social call when they step up. They can’t afford to fall behind 0-1 in the count.
Last week, Padres slugger Manny Machado became the first player ejected in an argument that followed a pitch clock violation, which carries a penalty of an automatic strike for hitters and an automatic ball for pitchers. It wasn’t for talking, but rather he thought he had called timeout as the pitch clock wound down to eight seconds — the deadline for batters to be alert to the guy on the mound.
A cautionary tale, though, that every second matters.
“It’s all business,” Giants outfielder Joc Pederson said.
Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe once received friendly advice from longtime umpire Joe West: Greet each ump by their first name and make a little small talk.
It’s guidance Lowe took to heart. It’s guidance that’s now hard to follow.
