Ryan Fitzgerald weighs in on the MLB pitch clock
Fitzgerald: “For the record, I like the pitch clock. The one today felt fast.”
Red Sox minor league infielder Ryan Fitzgerald weighed in on the controversial ending to Saturday’s Grapefruit League game.
“We played with pitch clock in AAA for the 2022 season. I never felt rushed and I saw less than 10 violations over 150 games. After playing in today’s game that ended in a tie, I’ve never felt more rushed to get in the box. The clock this year is not the same as last year,” tweeted Fitzgerald.
During the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded, the Braves would tie the game 6-6. Red Sox reliever Robert Kwiatkowski was about to throw a 3-2 pitch to Braves batter Cal Conley. Home plate umpire John Libka ruled Conley wasn’t ready and was called out and the game ended.
Fans all over social media has offered their opinion on the pitch clock and the ending to the game. Some of them flocked to Fitzgerald’s post and weighed in or asked questions.
When asked about what he thought was the difference between last year’s clock and the game on Saturday, “Honestly not sure. My guess is it has something to with the person running the clock. They’re quick starting it before the pitcher actually has the ball.”
When challenged by a fan on his claim that the pitch clock seemed different today, Fitzgerald tweeted, “Last year with runners on, I would wait until the clock hit 9 to get in the box. If I got in too early, the pitcher would sit and hold and I didn’t want to waste my time out. For whatever reason, when I looked at the clock it was at 10 well before I normally am ready.”
After the exchange on Twitter, Fitzgerald made it perfectly clear his opinion on the pitch clock.
“For the record, I like the pitch clock. The one today felt fast,” tweeted Fitzgerald.
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