The Chicago Cubs thumped the Dodgers by a score of 8-2 on Friday night, and the game marked the return of outfielder Cody Bellinger to Dodger Stadium. Bellinger, who spent the first seven seasons of his MLB career with the Dodgers and won the 2019 NL MVP award with them, signed with the Cubs after being non-tendered by L.A.
Bellinger remains a very popular figure among Dodger fans, and no doubt they were looking forward to greeting him a warm ovation. They gave him one pregame, and the appreciation surged again in the second inning as Bellinger approached the plate for his first plate appearance as a visiting player. As Bellinger soon learned, though, this is the jurisdiction of MLB's new pitch clock:
Yes, that's strike one on Bellinger as he receives a standing o from the Dodger Stadium faithful. Thus far, plate umps have been quite strict and letter-of-the-law when it comes to enforcing the new pitch clock, and Jim Wolf didn't cut Bellinger any slack in this one.
By way of reminder, the pitch clock, which is new to MLB this year after having been tested in the minors for some time, works like this:
The clock is 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 seconds with a runner on base;The clock starts when the pitcher catches the ball from the catcher and the clock runs until the pitcher starts his delivery (not when he releases the ball);The batter must be in the box and ready to hit with at least eight seconds left on the clock;Violations by the pitcher are an automatic ball and by the hitter are an automatic strike;A hitter gets one timeout per plate appearance;A pitcher gets two "disengagements" per batter. This counts either stepping off or making a pick-off attempt. A third disengagement would result in a balk. The disengagement count resets if a runner advances, such as with a stolen base, balk, wild pitch or passed ball.
The use of the pitch clock in 2023 is the major reason why game times are down significantly from 2022 levels, which is the point from the league's perspective. That said, the new rule has yielded a handful of awkward moments, and this one certainly qualifies.
Bellinger wound up being down 0-2 during the at-bat in question but worked the count full before grounding out to Freddie Freeman at first base. However, he'd later go on to notch an RBI double.
