Mets’ Scherzer loves ‘cat-and-mouse’ game of MLB’s new rules MLB average salary rose 14.8% to record $4.22M last season

PORT ST. LUCY, Florida – New York Mets right-hander Max Scherzer described pitching under the new rules of Major League Baseball as a game of cat and mouse.

Unlike previous years, Scherzer feels like the pitcher is finally in control of the pace thanks to the new pitch clock.

In his first start on the Grapefruit League schedule, Scherzer allowed a run in the second inning but struck out five while working off the first two innings of the Mets’ 6-3 victory over Washington.

“Really, the strength of a pitcher right now is I can completely dictate the pace,” said the three-time Cy Young Award winner. “Changing the rule that a hitter only has one time-out changes the whole dynamic between the hitter and the pitcher. Yes, I like it”.

Hours on the field are part of a series of new rules this season, including restrictions on field changes and large bases, which MLB hopes will improve the pace of the game and bring more activity to the game.

The average playing time for the three days of spring training is 2 hours 39 minutes, compared to an average of 3:01 for all spring training last year.

Scherzer says he’s learning to play with the pitching clock.

Washington Michael Chavis, the second hitter in the second inning, came out of the box when he felt Scherzer was too slow. Scherzer was fine.

The right-hander held the ball for over 10 seconds before making the next pitch as Chavis had to stay in the batter’s infield, making eye contact with Scherzer. The veteran pitcher felt he had imposed his will, though Chavis ultimately chose right.

“I can work very fast. And I can work very slowly,” Scherzer said. “There’s another layer here to be able to mess around with the striker’s timing.

“I can get on the field before the striker is in the box. I can’t file until eight (remaining seconds on the clock). But as soon as he looks up, I can leave. If his eyes are up with 12 seconds left, I can shoot.

“I had a conversation with the judge (David Rackley) to make sure it was legal. And it’s (legal). I’m just getting used to what’s coming in 2023.”

There were 69 pitch time violations in the first 35 spring practice games over the weekend, including 35 in 16 games on Sunday, according to MLB data.

While Scherzer thinks the timer is working in the pitchers’ favor, the hitters aren’t complaining either.

“I Like It,” Yankees star. Aaron Judge said. “I think you can play around with it a little. I think it will definitely speed up the game. Anything that gets the pitcher moving and moving and hopefully gets him out of breath, I’m looking forward to it.”

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said MLB is providing near-real-time updates on the rule change package that makes this spring practice unique.

The two main changes are the pitching hours and the restriction on extreme shifts within the field.

“They did a really good job of sending out a memo this morning with all the events that happened yesterday and questions from players and managers to ask so you can let your staff and club know as you see fit. Marmal said. “So we did this with our staff and brought two different points to our players because they did a really good job of communicating.”

There were more crashes during the Cactus and Grapefruit League games on Sunday, but most took the change in stride.

Rocky Mountain Feeder Daniel Bard was called on the ball after throwing a warm-up serve after the 30-second deadline before the start of the serve. The 30-second mark before the pitch was also a source of confusion during the Cardinals-Marlins game. Two Cardinals pitchers were called to pitch before the pitch began before, according to Marmol, the umpires got together and realized they were misinterpreting the rule.

“This is spring training for everyone,” Marmol said. “These things will be sorted out before we get out of here.”

NEW YORK. The median salary in Major League Baseball rose 14.8% to a record $4.22 million last year after the end of the lockout, helped by big deals Max Scherzer, Francisco Lindor, Markus Semyon And Corey Seeger.

According to the final calculations of the players’ association, the growth rate was the highest from 17.7% in 2000 to $1.61 million.

The average has declined in each of the previous four seasons until 2022, prompting the ire of the players, which was expressed by the union during the 99-day lockout that ended in March last year.

Last year’s median wage was calculated by the union at $4,222,193, up from $3,679,335 in 2021. MLB, which uses a slightly different method, calculated a median salary of $4,117,472, up 15% from $3,579,341 in 2021.

Payroll, a better reflection of expenses, rose 12.6% to $4.56 billion from $4.05 billion.

Wages rose higher last off-season. The Mets increased his salary to a projected $370 million, well above the previous record of $297.9 million for the 2015 Los Angeles Dodgers.

Some owners are pushing for significant changes to reduce wage inequality when the current employment contract expires after the 2026 season, and MLB has created another committee to look into the economy.

“History suggests that the economics committee … is really overly focused on the salary cap – or on reaching the salary cap the next time we sit down to negotiate,” union chief Tony Clarke said Saturday.

“We will never agree to a restriction. Let me start with this. We don’t have a cap, we’re not going to settle for a cap,” Clarke added. “The salary cap is the maximum limit on the value of a player and his salary. We believe in the market system. The market system has served our players, our teams and our game very well.”

Clarke suggested to some teams that wages be kept low as a strategy rather than a lack of revenue.

“The product works well on the field, the fans come to the stadium. Fans are coming to the stadium, local revenues are increasing in every aspect. This model has served our industry well,” he said. “Maybe or not” is the right question when teams in an emerging industry are still in a world where their payrolls are half of what they might have been 10 or 15 years ago.”

Manfred said MLB generated $10.8 billion in revenue last year. Clark praised the active free agent market.

“What’s interesting is that the comments are making headlines amid a remarkably exciting offseason, with teams competing and operating in free agency creating a level of excitement that I consider positive,” Clarke said. .

Figures are based on 1,043 players on the active and injured lists as of Aug. 31, the last day before active rosters expanded from 26 to 28. The union average includes proportional option buyouts that are not in MLB.

Neither party has included a $50 million bonus pool for players eligible for pre-arbitrage.