Manny Machado becomes 1st MLB player ejected over pitch-clock argument
San Diego Padres star Manny Machado already had a spot in MLB pitch-clock history as the first player ever penalized for a violation. He added to that legacy Tuesday.
In the first inning of the Padres' game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Machado was issued a third strike for a pitch-clock violation and then ejected for arguing his case with home plate umpire Ron Kulpa. The ejection appears to be the first time a player has been ejected in a regular-season game for arguing over the pitch clock.
MLB rules require a batter to be in the box and "alert" with eight seconds remaining on the clock. A subsequent replay showed Machado adjusting his batting gloves with his bat under his arm when Kulpa issued the strike with two outs and a full count.
It appeared, however, that Machado might have been trying to call time.
Manny Machado struck out due to a pitch clock violation, and was subsequently ejected for arguing the decision. pic.twitter.com/8nunHfDY2j
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) April 4, 2023
Machado, playing as the Padres' designated hitter Tuesday, was replaced by Nelson Cruz in the lineup. Three innings later, Cruz put the Padres up 1-0 with a solo homer in the fourth.
It probably shouldn't be a surprise that Machado had a secone run-in with the pitch clock. After becoming the first player docked for a violation in spring training, he said he could envision a lot of ump-issued strikes for himself during the season:
"I'm going to have to make a big adjustment. I might be 0-1 down a lot this year," he said. "It's super fast. There's definitely going to be an adjustment period, but going down in the history books."
Machado, who signed an 11-year, $350 million extension before the season, entered Tuesday hitting 5-for-19 with one walk and no extra-base hits.
The adjustment to the pitch clock has been a somewhat frequent issue early in the season, with 14 violations on Opening Day and, of course, some even weirder issues for the Mets. That is likely a price MLB is always willing to pay if it means a 26-minute reduction in game length.
