A behind-the-scenes look at how the pitch timer works

HOUSTON — The slugger went deep, then the console went beep.

As Central Missouri infielder John Prudhom crossed house plate Saturday after hitting a towering two-run house run within the first inning of a recreation on the Houston Winter Invitational at Minute Maid Park, Billy Cannon pressed the button that initiated the 30-second timer between batters, and somewhat beep chirped within the press field.

Cannon is what’s often known as a Field Timing Coordinator (FTC), a previously low-profile place that, with the arrival of the pitch timer on the Major League degree in 2023, is all of the sudden infused with significance. That’s why Cannon was one among about 110 FTCs in attendance on the Division II match hosted by the Astros over the weekend. They have been introduced right here by MLB to place what they’ve discovered concerning the position to follow earlier than the season begins.

“It’s integral,” Cannon stated of the immersive expertise, during which he operated the official timer for the primary two innings of the sport between the Central Missouri Mules and Montevallo Falcons earlier than handing the controls off to a different trainee. “I feel 10 times better now about it, even after just doing two innings.”

At any given time throughout the three-day, six-team match (during which the MLB pitch timer guidelines have been put in place), as one FTC ran the official timer, 18 others sat elsewhere within the Minute Maid Park press field with consoles of their very own, simulating the pitch timer operation.

Each occasion during which they hit a button to cease or begin the timer, the beep sounded. So the FTCs might hear, in actual time, if their stops and begins have been forward of or behind the pack. And as uncommon or surprising in-game conditions arose, MLB employees was available to reply questions on how the timer must be dealt with.

“We think this is a really valuable time and experience for them and for us,” stated Joe Martinez, MLB’s vp of on-field technique. “And Spring Training is going to just build on that. All of this is going to be important so that, once we reach the regular season, we can hit the ground running and hopefully there are minimal disruptions and confusion.”

The FTC place itself it not new. It has existed since 2015 to run the timer for between-innings breaks, pitching adjustments, mound visits and replay challenges.

But the 2023 introduction of the pitch timer guidelines all of the sudden makes the FTC one of the vital important non-uniform folks on the park. And there’s extra to the job than you may understand.

Here are the 5 keys to being an efficient FTC.

The pitch timer is 15 seconds with the bases empty, 20 seconds with runners on base. The timer begins the second the pitcher receives the ball and stops the second he goes into his movement.

That latter half will be tough.

“When you’re in the full motion, you [stop the clock] based off the first movement of your foot,” stated Matt Rosenbaum, an FTC based mostly in Arizona. “When you’re in the stretch, some of these guys still like to do their first foot movement, but you’re not stopping the clock until the leg actually lifts. So if you’re focusing specifically on the hips when they’re in the stretch, then you’re not going to stop at the right time.”

The FTC should even be the arbiter of when the 30-second timer between batters begins. If, for instance, there is a base hit to the outfield, the timer will not begin till the ball is thrown into the infield. And as famous above, after a homer, it begins when the man who went deep touches house plate.

Generally talking, an FTC will need to have consciousness of the entire discipline. If there is a foul ball into the stands and the correct fielder has simply run to the aspect wall in pursuit of it, the pitch timer doesn’t start till the fielder has returned to his place. The clock should additionally not be working if, say, the umpire is dismissing house plate or a hitter is handing off his gear to a coach after notching a success.

“If you know the game of baseball,” stated Cannon, who works Rangers video games in Arlington, “it’s a lot easier to have that common sense and concentration.”

2. Experience is vital

Only one FTC is required to run the timer for a recreation, however there are wherever from three to seven FTCs within the combine per Major League market (relying on the variety of groups). They are typically scheduled by sequence, somewhat than particular person video games, in order that they’ll work in tandem with a given umpiring crew.

Many of the FTCs lined up for the 2023 season have carried out the extra restricted model of the job up to now and/or have expertise with different knowledge operations jobs in baseball, be it official scoring or play-by-play enter. FTCs are employed by MLB, not the person golf equipment, and they’re paid by the sport.

What does MLB search for in its FTCs?

“It’s someone who knows the role well, has a good feel for the game and the focus to lock in for the whole game,” Martinez stated. “That’s the most important thing, keeping your attention on the field, seeing the umpire signals and being responsive to things that happen.”

Every FTC will use the identical gear — a Daktronics All Sport 5000 Series Control Console. The important board has preset buttons for mound visits, between-innings breaks, and so on. But a lot of the work is completed with a small handheld machine that has a begin and cease change and three buttons (one for 15 seconds, one for 20 and one for 30). The small machine permits for fast, virtually reflexive operation of the timer.

“They kind of fall into a rhythm with the beeps and the clicks,” Martinez stated. “It’s like typing on a typewriter. It’s kind of neat.”

During the MLB season, FTCs will sometimes be positioned in a spot in or close to the press field, the place they’ve a superb vantage level of the sphere and the umpires.

“We’ve been working with the clubs to find the ideal locations at each park,” Martinez stated. “All of the clubs understand how important this is and the fact that we need these folks to be able to do their jobs well or else it’s not going to work the way it needs to.”

Newly promoted crew chiefs Todd Tichenor and Adrian Johnson have been amongst a handful of umpires available on the Houston Winter Invitational to look at the pitch timer in motion and perceive the FTC operation.

“We’re gonna meet [with the FTCs] before each game at a certain time,” Tichenor stated, “whether it’s 40 minutes or 50 minutes before the game, they’ll come down, introduce themselves and I’m going to try to make them feel a part of the crew. I want them to be a part of the team. We don’t go until they go, and vice versa.”

There is a set of hand indicators utilized by the umps, who could have the discretion to cease the clock in particular circumstances, to convey directions to the FTCs, similar to twirling the finger round (just like a house run name) when a reset of the clock is required.

And throughout the recreation, the FTCs will put on a headset and the umpires will put on an in-ear piece and a microphone, permitting the 2 events to verify in with one another between innings to go over any points that arose and guarantee every part is working correctly.

“While it is a two-way type of communication, we still want to keep it more one-way, because they’re still on their game,” Rosenbaum stated. “You don’t interfere at all with the way [the umps] run the game.”

Any concern {that a} regionally based mostly FTC will likely be a “homer” and run the clock in a means that advantages the house staff is erased by the truth that the umpire is in the end the one in management. But even when a membership have been to complain about how the timer was dealt with, MLB has the info to objectively analyze whether or not it was operated correctly and decide the most effective plan of action from there.

As former massive league reliever Dan Otero, who now works for MLB as a senior director for on-field operations, famous whereas watching an FTC in motion within the press field, the place requires an individual’s whole consideration.

“I think there’s more pressure up here,” Otero joked, “than down on the field.”

That’s an apparent exaggeration, however the FTC should be dialed in for each pitch, each play, each mound go to, and so on. Though the two minutes and 15 seconds between innings provide a short break, of types, that is time during which they’re going to be in communication with the umpires.

“It’s nerve-racking, for sure,” Rosenbaum stated. “But one of the beauties of the people who do FTCs is we’ve done other certain positions like live-tracking. So we’re sort of used to being locked in for every pitch. That really helps us transition to this sort of role.”

Like the gamers on the sphere, an FTC will need to have confidence and conviction in what she or he is doing on the management board.

And like umpires or third-base coaches, the most effective FTCs would be the ones you by no means discover.

“I could be perfect for 99 events in a row,” Cannon stated. “But then, if the catcher throws the ball back to the pitcher and I cloud out for two seconds and miss it, that’s what I’m going to be known for.”

Now that the pitch timer is right here, we’ve got purpose to know what the FTC job entails. Let the beeping start.