Look: MLB Spring Training Game Ends After Clock Violation With Bases Loaded
SCOTTSDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 14: A detailed view of a behind home plate pitch clock is seen during the On-Field Rules Demonstration at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale on Tuesday, February 14, 2023 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
In an outcome that infuriated fans and could easily be replicated during the regular season (or even the World Series), a tense MLB spring game ended on a clock violation.
During the bottom of the ninth inning of today's game between the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves, the bases were loaded and the game was tied in the bottom of the ninth with a full count for Braves infielder Cal Conley. But just when it appeared that Conley would get to base, the umpire called him out with a strike three on a clock violation.
As a result, the game ended in a tie despite a simple walk almost allowing the Braves to get the win. The video below shows that fans were furious with the game being called in such an anticlimactic fashion.
Fans know that the pitch clock is here to stay, so they're trying to come up with ways that things like this don't happen in the future:
"Gotta let moments build. Maybe the best part of the sport. Gotta consider ways to re-think the late innings," one user replied.
"Should eliminate pitch clock in 9th inning or later. Pace of play should not trump determining a winner based on the play on the field," wrote another.
"If this happened in a Red Sox v Yankees game there would be a war," a third pointed out.
Will Major League Baseball tweak the rule to avoid anti-climactic outcomes like this in the future?
