Major League Baseball

Manny Machado commits first infraction as pitch clock makes MLB debut

Updated Feb. 24, 2023 7:26 p.m. ET

The pitch clock made its unofficial MLB debut on Friday.

The effects of having a 15-second pitch clock were noticeable in the first at-bat of the Seattle Mariners-San Diego Padres game, one of two games on Friday that opened up the spring training schedule.

Padres reliever Nick Martinez, who started Friday, threw his first four pitches in approximately 50 seconds. On average, there were 12.5 seconds between his opening pitches, which is roughly five seconds quicker than it took Martinez between pitches without runners on base in 2022 (17.7).

It wasn't a pitcher, though, who committed the first pitch clock infraction. Padres star Manny Machado didn't step into the batter's box for the first pitch of his first at-bat until there were seven seconds left on the pitch clock. All hitters must be in the box when there are eight seconds left on the clock, so Machado was called for a strike and began his at-bat with an 0-1 count.

During the game, Machado explained how the situation went down.

"Right at eight seconds, you've got to be looking at the pitcher — engaged with the pitcher," Machado told Bally Sports San Diego. "I was looking up and he told me, ‘You’ve got two seconds. You've got two seconds.' As soon as I looked up, bang, I was down 0-1 right away."

Machado said that he wasn't prepared for the new rule change right away.

"I might have to make a big adjustment," Machado said. "I might be down 0-1 a lot, a lot this year. It was super fast. There's definitely an adjustment period. I'm going down in the history books."

Machado mentioned earlier in the week that the new pitch clock would affect slower-paced hitters like him and Phillies star Bryce Harper.

"It’s not really who we are," Machado told FOX Sports' Pedro Moura. "It’s more of a mindset thing. You’re trying to get locked in to the game. It’s a long season, so you wanna be locked into that pitcher as much as you can. We’re all gonna have to make adjustments overall, as players, so that’s definitely gonna be one of the toughest ones for me, for sure — I think for everyone."

The violation didn't end up affecting Machado too much on Friday. He went 2-for-2 in his only plate appearances, hitting a pair of singles.

Machado and other slow-paced hitters — and pitchers — will get a little more leeway when runners are on base. Pitchers will have 20 seconds between pitches to throw the ball while hitters still have until there are eight seconds left to get back into the box. Hitters will be allowed just one timeout for each at-bat.

Pick-off attempts are also being legislated, as a pitcher can only disengage from the rubber (stepping off or throwing over) twice per plate appearance without penalty. Other new rules and changes debuting Friday included bigger bases and shift bans.

Each modification is being implemented to promote action and speed up the game. The pitch clock was originally introduced in the minor leagues in 2022 and immediately improved pace of play, with games taking 25 fewer minutes to complete compared to 2021.

The average MLB game length in 2022 was three hours and three minutes. Both of Friday's spring training games were much quicker. The Mariners-Padres game took two hours and 29 minutes to complete while the Rangers-Royals game spanned two hours and 33 minutes.

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