Machado Favored to be Most Penalized Batter for Pitch Clock

• Manny Machado is the favorite with +375 odds to be the most penalized batter for pitch clock violations in 2023.
• There are -115 odds for there to be less than 1999.5 pitch clock violations in the regular season.
• Luis Garcia (+900) has changed his infamous “rock the baby” windup due to the pitch clock.

NEW YORK – The most controversial rule change for the 2023 is the implementation of a pitch clock. The rule was experimented with in the minor leagues in 2022, leading to its introduction in the Majors for 2023. Now, there are -115 odds for there to be less than 1999.5 pitch clock violations in the 2023 MLB regular season.

A pitch clock violation will occur if the pitcher doesn’t start his delivery before the clock expires. The penalty will be a ball.

If the batter doesn’t enter the batter’s box before the pitch clock expires, he will be penalized a strike.

Projected Number of Pitch Clock Violations in 2023 MLB Regular Season

• Over 1999.5 -115
• Under 1999.5 -115

The implementation of a pitch clock is something that major leaguers will have to get used to.

Across 35 Spring Training games this opening weekend, there were 69 pitch clock violations.

This averages to just under two violations per game, which would crush the projected number of pitch clock violations in the regular season set at 1999.5.

However, major league baseball players are exceptional at making adjustments. Whether its situational or mechanical, baseball players must adjust to be successful.

In the 2022 minor league season, pitch clock violations decreased from 1.73 per game in the second week of the season to 0.41 in the final week.

A poll conducted by the MLB found that nearly 90% of players took a month or less to get adjusted to the new rule.

Major leaguers will likely make a similar, if not better, adjustment to the newly implemented pitch clock.

The adjustments shown in the 2022 minor league season give value to the -115 odds on MLB sportsbooks for there to be under 1999.5 pitch clock violations in the 2023 MLB regular season.

Players Penalized for Pitch Clock Violations

Manny Machado is the favorite (+375) to be the most penalized batter for pitch clock violations.

Machado became the first player to receive a pitch clock violation, as the batter wasn’t set in the box in time during their Spring Training game on Friday.

His +375 odds are worth a bet considering his lackadaisical attitude and early display of pitch clock violations thus far in Spring Training.

A player to stay away from is Luis Garcia, who has +900 odds to be the most penalized pitcher.

Garcia will not record as many pitch clock violations as oddsmakers predict due to the necessary change in his windup.

A side-by-side video of Garcia’s Spring Training debut and a game from the 2022 season shows the extreme shortening of his windup.

Luis Garcia was known for his excessively long “rock the baby” windup that will no longer be seen in 2023.

The adjustment to Garcia’s windup is over a two second difference in delivery time, an effort to ensure he doesn’t cost his team extra baserunners through violations.

Luis Garcia’s +900 odds on online sportsbooks are worthy of a fade because of his mechanical adjustments that will limit pitch clock violations in the 2023 MLB regular season.