Kruk explains why pitch clock wouldn’t have bothered him originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The new MLB rules have been a major adjustment for players and baseball fans in the 2023 season.
To former pitcher and current NBC Sports Bay Area Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow, though, the implementation of the pitch clock feels familiar nearly three decades after his playing career retirement.
On a special edition of “Giants Talk” with Krukow and Duane Kuiper, Krukow shared his opinion on the new rule and whether he believes he would have been significantly impacted by it during his time in the big leagues.
“I worked quickly so that wouldn’t have bothered me at all,” Krukow said. “The only thing that would have bothered me is there are certain times when you throw a pitch and you don’t throw it right, and it hurts to throw it, like a slider, you could get a twinge in your elbow and you get this nerve thing that goes right up your shoulder, in one ear and out the other, and then it goes out your left shoe — and it’s just awful.”
“And you need about 10 or 15 seconds where you just have to stop and regroup and try and let your body recover from it. And the older you get, the more of those you get.”
While the sudden pain could be a problem for some, Krukow acknowledged that players can — and already have — found loopholes to work around it.
“That would be the only thing that would be an issue,” Krukow continued. “But now, we’re seeing guys deal with it. They ask for another ball, they bend down and tie their shoe, somebody just mysteriously throws a ball out of the bleachers and it has to be retrieved.
“So I think baseball has figured it all out but that would have been the only drawback for me. But I love a quick pace, and I love what this new rule change has done to our game. The games now are literally faster than they were in 1950.”
In an effort to increase the pace of play, MLB implemented a 15-second timer between pitches when bases are empty and a 20-second timer when runners are on base. Additionally, a 30-second clock is turned on between batters.
On top of the pitch clock, the other rules introduced this year are defensive shift limits and bigger bases.
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For the most part, the Giants haven’t had many issues during games and have embraced the new rules a little over a quarter into the season.
While the pitch clock is a big change for the modern pitcher, Krukow and Kuiper are big fans of the new-looked game that isn’t all that new to either of them.
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