NEW YORK (AP) - What clock?
The new digital timers tracking between-inning breaks and pitching changes did not appear to be noticed much Monday, the first full day of Major League Baseball's renewed effort to speed the pace of games.
"I've never had a problem with it, so I just went and did my thing," Baltimore pitcher Chris Tillman said following a 6-2 win at Tampa Bay.
New regulations require hitters to keep a foot in the batter's box - with seven exceptions. The clock times inning breaks and pitching changes at 2 minutes, 25 seconds for locally televised games and 2:45 for nationally televised games. Pitchers must throw their last warmup pitches before 30 seconds remain, with exceptions if the pitcher or catcher is on base when the previous half-inning ends.
"I didn't pay any notion," New York Yankees catcher Brian McCann said following a 6-1 loss to Toronto.
MLB said penalties are limited to warnings and fines, and those don't begin until May 1.
Batters used to stepping out tried to keep one foot on the chalk outlining the box.
Baseball announced the changes in February after the average time of a nine-inning game stretched to a record 3 hours, 2 minutes last year, up from 2:33 in 1981.
More drastic measures are being implemented in the minor leagues. Ballparks at Triple-A and Double-A will have 20-second pitch clocks, and balls and strikes in the count will be used as penalties starting May 1.
While watching the St. Louis Cardinals' 3-0 win at the Chicago Cubs in Sunday night's opener on television, a game that included 23 strikeouts, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brandon McCarthy humorously tweeted "if this is the new strike zone I think you could convince pitchers to use a 10-second pitch clock."
"I don't see it as experimental," new commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday in Washington, D.C. "During spring training, we kind of eased into it. That process will continue as the season goes on, and probably we'll become a little more aggressive as players have an opportunity to get used to the changed rules. The big issue from our perspective is to give players an opportunity to get used to the change."
Detroit beat Minnesota 4-0 in a game that took 2:30. Plate umpire Joe West said there were only two violators: Minnesota right-hander Phil Hughes was late for the first inning and Twins reliever J.R. Graham was late for the eighth.
"We had one Detroit hitter step out of the box with both feet, and I said, "Hey,'" West recalled. "He said, "Oh, I forgot,' and he jumped back in. He didn't hold up the game."
Atlanta's opener at Miami ran into timing problems even before Henderson Alvarez threw the first pitch. Ceremonies ran late, so the game started at 4:22 p.m. - 12 minutes behind schedule.