Umpire Joe West called the Red Sox and Yankees pathetic and embarrassing for not picking up the pace of play.
“They’re the two clubs that don’t try to pick up the pace,” said West, chief of the umpiring crew that worked the three-game series in Boston. He was the home plate umpire Sunday. “They’re two of the best teams in baseball. Why are they playing the slowest?
“It’s pathetic and embarrassing. They take too long to play. All of baseball looks to these two clubs to pick up the pace,” West said. “Angel did everything he could. The players aren’t working with us. This is embarrassing, a disgrace to baseball.”
Players do not have a responsibility to pick up the pace. They can take as long as they want to make sure they are comfortable at the plate, it is up to the umps to enforce the rules. If new rules need to be put in place then so be it, but don’t blame the players for not policing themselves. If you expect players to police themselves you are delusional. If you need an example take a look at PED use in MLB before testing. So my advice to Joe is to aim his criticism at MLB and TV networks; the players are not going to change without any new penalties.
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