New York Yankees starter Gerrit Cole was forced to start an inning with a 1-0 count after being called for throwing too many warmup pitches during Thursday's game against Cleveland.
It happened as Cole was getting ready for the top of the second inning with the game still scoreless. After a certain number of warmup throws, home plate umpire Derek Thomas asked Cole to stop, apparently indicating that Cole had thrown enough. At that point, Cole decided to throw one more pitch to home plate. Thomas apparently did not like that as he called an automatic ball, meaning Guardians batter Jhonkensy Noel would start his at-bat with a 1-0 count. Cole argued with Thomas and the crew chief, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone came out of the dugout to back up Cole, but the arguments were to no avail.
Gerrit Cole started the inning with a ball after the home plate umpire said he threw too many warm-up pitches pic.twitter.com/NBCqNsPIZI
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Cole was not happy with Thomas and let him know. A hot mic picked up Cole saying "D**nit, Derek! And now this slows up the f***ing game!"
This call was certainly unusual and is apparently linked to recent "Pace of Play" rule changes adapted in MLB since 2014, specifically this rule:
"As of 2018, the umpire's signal for the final warmup pitch comes at the 25-second mark and the pitcher must throw it before the clock hits 20. The batter will be announced at the 20-second mark and the pitcher must begin his windup to throw the first pitch of the inning within the five seconds before the clock hits zero. The pitcher can take as many warmup pitches as he wants within these countdown parameters."
The "Pace of Play" rules have led to unusual calls which on occasion have had a huge impact on the outcome of some games.
Apparently this was more of a "pitch clock violation" rather than exceeding a maximum for the number of warmup pitches. It is ironic that this is designed to speed up the game, but the argument between Cole and the umpire ended up slowing things down.
Noel walked to start the second inning, but Cole retired the next three batters to get out of the second inning. Cole pitched six shutout innings as the Yankees beat the Guardians 6-0 to take the rubber game of the three-game series and maintain their lead in the American League East.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
