Tylor Megill needed to tie his shoe during his second inning of work on Tuesday night, but he was told by the umpiring crew that if he asked for time to do so, it would count as a mound visit.
As part of Major League Baseball’s new pace of play initiative, unless you can retie your shoe and throw the next pitch before the pitch clock hits zero, you will either be penalized with a ball as part of the new pitch clock rules, or docked a mound visit if you request a timeout.
“It was just talking about when I went to tie my shoe, when I’m able to call for a timeout, but it’s gonna cost for a mound visit,” Megill said. “But I was able to make the pitch in time.”
Asked if that in fact means that tying his shoe results in a mound visit, based on his conversation with the umpire, Megill confirmed that bizarre rule.
“I guess so,” Megill said. “You should get free granted time if your shoelace is untied. That’s not your fault.”
Of course, there are ways to potentially play with the new rules, as Megill has been experimenting with. The rule states that the pitch clock starts once the pitcher receives the ball from the catcher, so if the pitcher ties his shoe while the catcher waits to throw the ball back to the mound, it could be a useful loophole.
“I was messing around with that a little bit tonight,” Megill said. “Where I would turn my back to [Tomas] Nido.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
Listen live to WFAN:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker (just say ‘Play W-F-A-N’)