After player input, MLB allows some pitch clock delays

By RONALD BLUM
AP Baseball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — MLB has clarified its new rules to allow umpires to delay the start of the pitch clock after swings in which a hitter loses footing or when a pitcher covers first base, third or home. The commissioner’s office also said in a memo Wednesday that if a catcher ends an inning on base, at bat or on deck, an umpire may determine the catcher needs additional time and allow the pitcher another warmup throw and the catcher to throw to second base. The league also clarified that whether a defensive team violated new shift restrictions will be subject to video review only involving the first player to touch a ball after a pitch.