
The batter wasn’t looking. The pitcher wasn’t looking. The umpire was looking too hard.
This can’t happen. And yet it did. Wednesday afternoon, Spencer Turnbull was pitching for the Phillies in Detroit against the Tigers, his former team. Rookie Wenceel Pérez was at bat and John Libka was the home plate umpire. With a 1-2 count, Turnbull is standing with his back to the plate, his foot not on the rubber. Pérez is in the box. The pitch clock winds down–00:11, 00:10, 00:09, 00:08.
Eight seconds remaining is the critical point that a batter must be ready and attentive to the pitcher. Pérez glanced downward right then and tapped the plate with his bat, while waiting for Turnbull to turn around and step on the rubber and pitch. Libka calls him out—strike three on a pitch clock violation.
Spencer Turnbull picking up a clock violation K.
Basically entrapment…with Turnbull turned around not looking at Pérez, but Pérez gets the violation. pic.twitter.com/3nwXxLoTGU
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 26, 2024
Was this an intentional, crafty move by the veteran Turnbull, taking advantage of a rookie batter? It’s possible, though his poker face and his body language did not show that.
This is a rule that has generally worked well and has improved the pace of the game. But this was an improper application of it. You can’t penalize a batter when the pitcher is off the rubber, looking the other way. Tigers’ announcer Dan Gladden said, “There’s no way you can call that.” Jason Benetti added, “How can you be attentive to a person that’s not attending to you?”

The Pitch Clock has improved the game yet created confusion between pitchers and hitters in certain scenarios – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
This has to be discussed and addressed in Umpire-land and the MLB Rules Committee. It was a violation of the pitch clock violation rule.
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