José Caballero, New York Yankees shortstop, faces scrutiny from Major League Baseball (MLB) over his tactics regarding pitch clock rules. MLB officials have labeled his actions as deceptive, resulting in tensions during a recent game.
During a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates, umpire Quinn Wolcott issued a pitch-clock violation to Caballero in the sixth inning. This incident resulted in Caballero striking out, and led to Yankees hitting coach James Rowson being ejected. The Yankees ultimately lost the opener 5-3 in ten innings.
Caballero expressed his frustration, noting, “I’ve seen other guys do some other things and they don’t call anything on them. They’re just picking on me.” He was acquired from Tampa Bay on July 31 last year, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone shared how his perspective on Caballero has changed. “He’s one of those guys I would yell at from the dugout. He was a pest and I didn’t like it. Now I like him because he’s a good player and he’s on our side. But, yeah, we’ve had a laugh about that.”
Umpires and Bench Clearing
The dispute began during a June 14 game in Toronto, where Caballero delayed his head movement until eight seconds remained on the pitch clock, prompting a warning from plate umpire Steven Jaschinski. This led to a lengthy on-field discussion involving Caballero, Jaschinski, Boone, and crew chief John Tumpane.
Flash forward to a game against the Pirates. Tensions heightened again when Pirates reliever Dennis Santana accused Caballero of delaying in the batter’s box. This escalated into benches and bullpens clearing during the series opener. In response, MLB instructed umpires, including Adrian Johnson, to enforce pitch-clock regulations more strictly.
Wolcott clarified, “He’s not allowed to do an inordinate amount of time looking down, trying to get the pitcher to cause a violation.” MLB has emphasized they seek to avoid problems caused by such conduct, as the pitch clock was implemented to reduce game times. The regulation sets a 15-second limit with no runners on and 18 seconds with runners since 2024.
MLB’s Enforcement and Team Reaction
MLB advised umpires to enforce this rule without warnings, stating, “We were instructed to violate him.” Boone expressed frustration, citing a lack of prior information about this change from MLB. Boone instructed Caballero, “Make sure you’re looking up at nine so that you are alert by eight.”
Caballero, disputing the accusations, stated, “I don’t know, maybe my English is so bad that I don’t understand, but deceiving kind of means that you’re trying to trick someone and I’m not trying to trick someone.” He maintained consistency in his routine and noted that it aligns with his previous at-bats.
Caballero further expressed concern about pitchers having the upper hand in controlling pitch timing. He noted, “If I get in the box and they have 16, 17 seconds left, they can hold the ball on me all that time and I’d be tied up.”