NEW YORK — Teams were warned by Major League Baseball on Wednesday that batters may not attempt to deceive pitchers into quick-pitch violations.
“In recent days, we have seen batters attempt to induce pitchers to violate the pitch timer regulations by creating the appearance that they are in the batter’s box and alert to the pitcher with more than eight seconds remaining on the clock when, in actuality, they have not fully entered the batter’s box,” MLB senior vice president Michael Hill wrote in a two-page memo to general managers, assistant general managers and field managers. After getting ahead 0-1 in the count during the ninth inning Saturday, Boston closer Kenley Jansen was called for a violation for starting his delivery while St. Louis’ Willson Contreras had his right foot in the batter’s box and his left foot outside. Jansen followed with a pair of balls that pushed the count to 3-1, then was called for another quick-pitch violation, resulting in a walk.
