Chris Smith: A Pitchers Perspective on the Pitch Clock & WBC

Welcome to Baseball Biz. I'm Mark Corbett, your host, and today on BaseballBiz On Deck, we have Mr. Chris Smith. We've been very fortunate to have him here in the past, and happy to have him here again. Chris, has been with the MLB organization for some time. He, he served as a pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees, the Blue Jays.

And also in the Australian League. The Frontier League, the Pecos League. Man, my feet would be tired if I had your gig. Chris, how

you doing buddy? I'm doing well. It's good to see you again. Mark. Glad to be back on with

you. You, you kinda settled down now you're doing real estate. Well, what I was going with that long as, uh, we

got you.

Oh yeah. I just, uh, I've actually just got a business partner with me. He's a good friend of mine here and we're actually. Working on a plan to kind of attack these, uh, baseball guys actually and try to get into these organizations, use some of my contacts to start helping some of these guys find investments and also kind of properties that, uh, they may wanna be around these spring training facilities We're, uh, got a business plan going on.

So that's kind of the goal of 2023. Uh, at the same time, you know, it's great to kind of talk baseball into an exciting time and baseball is back, baby.

 All right, man, that's what I'd love to hear. Yeah, we'll put some links at the bottom of the description, anything that you'd like for folks to see there as well.

But man, it. Baseball time . I know. I couldn't help but think of you, I mean, as being a pitcher, knowing that pitchers and catcher's report was coming. You know? Here we are. It's what, Wednesday, February 15th, and I think it started what? Yesterday? And that today. So all those guys are sitting either in Arizona, not sitting, standing in, pitching in, in Arizona or in Florida.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, uh, a lot of PFPs going on right now, you know, getting back on the field, getting uh, getting acclimated. But you know, as a lot of these guys are learning these off seasons, there's no, there's no off season. You know, these guys have been working hard to kind of put their work into play and now it's time to kind of show everybody what they got.

You know, there's some established guys, but there's also those guys like.  like me, that always kind of came in, compete for a job, and I don't know, it's always exciting to see those guys and have a lot of friends around here in the Tampa area that are going away for spring training. So always rooting for those guys too, that are competing for those spots.

And then we've got the World Baseball Classic coming up. Oh wow. Yeah. So just a lot of stuff that's gonna be happening. And honestly, world Baseball Classic opens up a lot of opportunities for a lot of guys. .

Yeah. Because they can't all be there. The spring training, I mean, guys, Ridley on your roster, uh, a lot of them are gonna be playing for our team, whether it be, uh, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, US, Japan.

They're not gonna be there at spring training. At least not for all of it.

Yeah, yeah. Those big dogs are getting those opportunities to represent their country. I think it's amazing. You know, I think it's cool. It's, uh, the Dominican team is absolutely stacked. Uh, I, I, if I was a betting man, which, uh, I would put a lot of money on those guys, cuz I'm telling you those, they got a really, really stacked lineup.

But at the same time, you know, you can't count out those Americans that been putting their good teams. No. There, there's some good teams and you, you never know what's actually gonna happen, but, but you can't help but look at that team for the Dominican Republican, say winner .

Yes. Yeah, they're here. I mean, they're, and I played down there, so I know they're, they're super excited to, uh, represent their country and they, they have no, they have some of the most national pride out of any, uh, kind of baseball player we've, I've, I've ever played with.

Well, I get that. And, uh, this, you know, we can look across that without saying a whole lot. I mean, uh, even recent history, those who've retired. If we look at Big Poppy, he's from there. We look at Pedro Martinez, he's from there. And there's so many guys right now. Let's see you. Uh, who alls on that team? Vlad Jr., Wander Franco.

Who else? Yeah, I'm seeing, uh, you know, Manny Machado, Julio Rodriguez. He's gonna be an absolute stud. You know, I, I think he's gonna be a future mvp, to be honest. I think he's young, but he's, he's, as long as he stays healthy, he's gonna have years to come. You know, Juan Solo's playing out there, uh, you know, just Sandy, Alcon for starting Pitcher VLA Jr.

You know, I didn't have the privilege to play with him. I played against him when I was with the Nationals, but man, there's just a stud starred lineup

I cannot wait to see this. I mean, my eyes are gonna be glued to the tv. I'm actually gonna try to get down to Miami and, and catch some of this because the, they're broken up into four pools and we won't get into all that today.

But Pool D is the one that's in Miami , that's a deep pool  because the DR is there and a lot of other folks. So, I don't know. I'm hoping you get down there, man. It's, it should be exciting. .

I agree. Yeah. It's, it's, it's always, and like I said, it also opens up a lot of Windows opportunity for guys going into camp.

Cause those big dogs are way representing their countries and those guys that are kind of fringe players and also getting those first looks by those major league guys is it's, or major league coaches and staff is always a, I, I don't know. I, I always root for those guys to get in, get their, get their kind of, I guess, name established with those.

Yeah. I think what, during the spring training you get like 60 men on your roster. Mm-hmm. . And if you think about that with those others gone, I saw a headline, I wasn't able to dig into it, but the Yankees have 29 non roster folks that are inviting the spring training. And that's exciting. I mean, those, those are we gonna see those future players.

Those are where you're gonna find those guys that, uh, scout said you really need to take a closer look at him.

Hope. I mean, like Nestor Cortez, you know, I, I had the privilege of playing with him with the Yankees and he kinda reestablished his career and was able to go into, uh, pitch down the DR and then went back to the Yankees and got a lot of wonderful opportunity and look at it going arbitration.

And geez, had a, just had a fantastic years with their second year, third start, best starting pitcher, you know, and he's, I don't know, I just, I root for guys like that cause I, I know what kind of position it is just to get that opportunity and just go in to prove yourselves and then, I mean, like I said, numbers speak for themselves and work ethic also.

So hopefully those guys get in and be able to make a good impression. Well, it is interesting to see that Chris. But as a pitcher, can you kind of gimme an idea what's happening this first few days before the rest of the team gets there at spring, Trenton, the pitcher and catches report. What, what is different about that time?

Yeah, like I said, uh, there's, there's a lot of new guys coming in. So a lot of the time you're trying to meet the new players, get comfortable with the coaches again. Uh, they're obviously trying to see the work ethic you put in, in the off season. Um, Coming in healthy, obviously, and then they're kind of setting out a plan for you.

A lot of the times you'll meet with the pitching coach and they'll kind of let you know what days you're throwing, and then you'll go through the daily routine of basically like, Hey, here's your. Daily schedule. Uh, fortunately, um, pitchers, a lot of the times we get out, uh, we used to get out a lot early, so as you can see, golf clubs in the background, , uh, a lot of like the golfing, uh, during the spring training time cuz you get off a little bit early, but then when those games kick in, kind of, it changes a little bit.

But yeah, the most of the time you're just trying to get there and ac get there acclimated, you know, some people. Well, I, like, I, I never got to play out in Arizona for spring training or, it's a very different kind of spring training, but you know, some people are coming from cross country and everything like that.

I played for the Blue Jays Nationals, Tigers and Yankees, and that's all Florida State League stuff, so, or Oh yeah, like kinda I guess around the Florida area. So I didn't really have to travel that far. So a lot of these guys getting there, getting acclimated, even time changes, everything like that.

So it's kinda what those first few days are. And like I said, there's a lot of meetings.  pitchers meetings, you know, kind of goals of what the, the team's trying to accomplish. And then you're just really, really trying to figure out what your role is gonna be in, in kind of those time, in that kind of timeframe too.

And I would think, you know, if there had been personnel changes, they brought some new catchers on, uh, building that rapport, I would think between catcher and pitcher is very important.

Absolutely. Yeah. I mean you have those usually established guy that's kind of been there at least been in the game enough, so, but at the same time, like yeah, you gotta have that connection with them.

Cause it's everything. And I'll be honest, I feel so bad for catchers. They have probably the most grueling schedule during spring training. They go from catching drills to meeting with pitchers to hitting. To back to catching bullpens, to, you know, it's, and then it's just very daunting on them for throughout the spring training.

So, you know, I've always kind of tipped my catchers along the way. You know, I make sure they get taken care of cuz they take care of you. And, uh, yeah, building that rapport is definitely important, especially in those early stages of spring.

Well, and I think about the catchers too. You look at how many of the managers of teams out there are catchers, it's because they have seen the most of the game , you know?

Mm-hmm. They're there, they, they know what's going on with the umpire. They're quite often, they're there for the entire game, and they have to get a unique perspective from that and some insights. But, mm-hmm. , I'm, I'm glad to see that. So after that, then you got everybody else coming in. We were just mentioning 'em a few moments ago that the Yankees are bringing 29 new  invited 29 guys, nine on the roster.

Come on down. Let's see how you do with spring training. Mm-hmm. , I've gotta get over to Yankees, uh, over here at Steinbrenner and see some of that. Man, that's gonna be exciting.

Yeah, it'll be great. Like I said, a lot of wonderful opportunity for other guys that maybe not be seen. Um, the World Baseball Classic, like I said, it allows a lot of opportunity for the players to kind of come in and just show 'em a little bit of what they got.

And, uh, you know, whenever, I was with the Yankees, the one thing they really emphasize is that we're not just pitching just for the Yankees, but for the other 29 teams. So, so you wanna be able to get in and build your yourself up a little bit of a resume, you know, and hope that those coaches kind of take to a liking.

And if, uh, if it doesn't work out we'll say the Yankees or whoever, you hope that they're kind of in your corner to be able to find you another job elsewhere. But at the same time, seeing those guys get opportunities that I was, it's pretty cool to see,

Are you gonna make it out to any of the spring training games?

Yeah, I'm gonna try to, like I said, I, I've literally lived right across the street from Stein Burner Field and Raymond James Stadium, so it's, it's not too far of a drive for me. It's just, uh, getting back out there. Like I said, since I've been retired, I'll be honest, I haven't went to too many baseball games that only usually kind of go in.

Like my buddy Mike Ford played against the Rays last year when he was with The Angels. So I, I caught a game out there but didn't really get into spring training. But, hey, I'll tell you what, around here in Tampa, the, those games are packed to, to say they pack. .

I think 30 years ago it was so easy you'd see all these retirees come in here, but you would not necessarily see the stands filled.

Mm-hmm. . And certainly with the popular teams, you're gonna see it much doing much better. I can't imagine what Yankees and Phillies are gonna look like this spring training , but it, I mean you see the Phillies over in Clearwater, so they're just across the way. Mm-hmm. , um, from you. They're probably not 20 minutes from you, I mean, you'll probably get on the bridge and you're there.

Yeah, exactly. There's, there's so many like, little facilities around here, which makes travel nice too. You know, like, uh, whenever you're going around Florida, you know, whenever you go to Fort Myers or somewhere down there, it's a little bit longer of a bus ride or kind of car ride if you drive by yourself.

But at the same time, like they pack out. The Clearwater's always a, a fun place to play. And even whenever I played in the Florida State League, it was a high, at that time, they, they did really well on the minor league side, but you know, Florida State League is sometimes like ghost towns around here. So, so seeing those, uh, pack out for those major league guys, I mean, everybody wants to see those big name guys play so, were there any fields that you enjoyed playing on more than the others in, uh, Florida?

I mean, Clearwater as a pitcher, I mean, it, it's kinda, the wind blow is pretty good. Uh, if it's blowing the opposite way, obviously that's a great, uh, pitcher's park. I mean here in Tampa, like that was kind of a graveyard too of, of places, uh, to pitch. So that was always a good place to play as a pitcher.

Daytona, whenever, whenever I was playing, they were the Cubs, uh, and they packed out of like the Florida State League. It's one of the places that packed out. So that was always fun to go to. And hotel was on the beach, so you can't really complain about that. Um, but yeah, , I saw Aaron Judge hit, uh, whenever I was in High A with him, I saw him hit a ball over the Steinbrenner sign.

Oh gosh. During a game, not during bp, during a game. It was one of the first ball. It's probably the first ball I've ever seen him, man. He just absolutely bombed it. So it's. , like I said, there's, there's a lot of cool parks here and Lakeland's kind of re rejuvenated their facility too for the Tigers, which is great.

I got to see that my, my last kind of two years I was with them and they're, they're doing a good job of revamping up their system and then, uh, the Blue Jays re just redid their facility too. So a lot of, uh, a lot of cool places to see if you're able to be here around the area. There's a lot of new kind of renovated places.

I would encourage all of our listeners to check these out if you're anywhere near this area. That's, it is so cool. It's so neat to be able to go. , you know, you were talk, we're talking about the landscape of these park. Not just the here in Florida, but the, the major league parks themselves, there's gonna be some changes.

I mean, that's cause of the new rules, and I'm not talking about dramatic in some cases, but there's a couple things there. One, we can talk about the pitch clock. Two, we can talk about the actual physical bases, some things that are happening there, and maybe to a lesser degree talking about the dirt on the field where it begins and ends.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. . But just, just begin with the pitch clock. I see now that starting this. There's going to be 15 seconds from pitch to pitch. My understanding is, That the batter can stay out of the box until the last 8 seconds of that 15 second clock . So you, that's, you've got eight seconds, dude, you know, communicate with your catcher or whatever to make it happen.

So he, the batter has to be alert before they can actually have the pitch, meaning the, I guess, look toward the pitcher. The batter can, can call one time, during a plate appearance, you know, so they can say, oh, sorry. That's one thing I'm really happy about. Okay. Because, I cannot tell you how many times I've seen a, a player and, and some of 'em are my favorite ones, who've put up the hand to the umpire two or three times with one at bat.

I said, come on, dude. There's a game to be played. You know, you're just messing with the pitcher, okay?

Mm-hmm. . I literally just watched the thing about Joey Votto trying to mess up Roy Holiday's, uh, perfect gamer, no hitter, and he's, he stepped out of the box twice on him to try to get him out of his rhythm.

And, and it's a mind game thing, you know? And whenever I pitched, I was like a really quick pitcher. I like to get the ball on this pitch. So the pitch clock was kind of implemented my last two or three years I've pitched. It didn't ever affect me. Cause I'm gonna get the ball, get in the box, I wanna throw the next pitch.

Uh, but some of these other guys have different routines. You know, they, they have these routines like Romano for instance. Like he likes to take a little bit of time, you know, before he kinda lets the ball go. He has his kind of preset routine and there's, there's other pitchers along the way, starting pitchers that are gonna be maybe impacted a little bit, but, A lot of times you don't wanna take a sign either until that batter gets in the box.

So like you said, you got eight seconds, and if you're trying to, and you're shaking off your catcher and you're like, Nope, it's not what I wanna do, then, then I don't know if there's a new rule where the pitcher can step off, you know, and then it's like, then you're in a cat and mouse game where it's like, it's, it is mind game.

And I don't know, there's just a lot of rules that, I'm going to be honest, I'm not, I'm not a big fan of . Uh, like I'm a, I'm a old school guy, I guess you could say. Like you said, you mentioned the new base bases and. Rickey Henderson would've loved that back in the day. , I mean, there's just like, there's just a lot of stuff that's going on with the game that I kind of wish would stay in place.

Yeah. And that's just my own opinion. Um, but at the same time, I get it, they're trying to get fans involved and everything like that a little bit more. . Well, I get that too. But you know, the, the thing of it is, I, I do like where the, the batter can’t just completely be stepping outta the box so much each time.

Mm-hmm. , I like that. Uh, I thought, okay, but what are you gonna do as far as the guy who wants to steal go from first to second? The pitcher only has twice during an at bat. They can step off the rubber and attempt to do something with that. So they've got, if you've got somebody at bat and you gotta get on first and he's look like he's gonna steal, you only get two opportunities to get him.

If you throw a third time, you gotta get him, or the guy at bat gets an additional ball that count. I'm gonna be honest. I don't like that one bit. I don't that, I think it's, I think it's absolutely stupid. I mean, at the end of the day, like a stolen base is such a big play. You know, someone being on first compared to second is just, and if a pitcher's using that to, I mean, we got guys that are fast as lightning. Now, you know, like I, I had the privilege of playing with the guy that had the most stolen bases last year in the league. Jon Berti. Mm-hmm. . And that guy was, that guy's a lightning. If he knows that you can't pick over that third time, like he's just gonna take that extra step. And then it's just, again, it's, and then we're talking about speeding up the game and stuff like that.

And then next thing you know, you wanna give a ball to the battery that's gonna cause another like 10, 15 seconds ball. And then you gotta reset on the mound. I don't know, I just, I just don't like the way that's going to be honest. And, um, I, I love the game, but just, there's just some things that I just wish that Manfred would just kinda leave alone.

Oh, I'm with you. I tell you in, in most cases with this too. I like, I mean, I like being able to see the pitcher and the, the player on first or whatever, A little tag back and forth. Now when he goes past five or six. Okay, yeah. I'm like, help me out guys, you know, but, but to, to say it two times per play of appearance, eh, you know, I, I got a little bit, uh, hesitancy with that.

But the other part about that too is that guy over on first, now he, he's got a shorter distance to go. He's got a bigger base to go to. You know, the one thing. Well, this will be good. Cause I guess there'll be less collisions. You know, there there'll be that, but they also know the speed. If you've got somebody like a Randy Arozarena, like you're talking about, Jon Berti, , it eliminates a lot for them.

They're stealing bases that they may even halfway second guessed before. They ain't going to second guess anymore. No, no. It's, it's, I mean, the game's already a game of inches. You know, we talk about that all the time. These bang, bang plays. You know, I mean, like I said, I, I feel like we're moving more towards a little bit of more of an offensive driven kind of baseball, and I get it based, my pitchers are getting absolutely disgusting.

You know, everybody has at least two or three guys in the bullpen throwing a hundred mph now. So, I mean, I get that aspect of things, but stealing makes it more fun, I guess, and people want to see more stolen bases. But like I said, I mean, history kind of rewriting itself almost, you know, like I said, if Rickey Henderson had these bigger bases, then who knows what he would've done.

You know what I. . Like I said, it just kind of, kind of takes away from those guys a little bit too, from back in the day that didn't have those opportunities. But I don't know, like I said, he's, I guess he's trying to make different ways to get people involved, get the runners running a little bit more. But me being as a pitcher, I didn't like that guy being on second base  and kind of the same way with this rule change of, um, Now that Ghost Runner on second base is always there.

I don't like that either. Yeah, I think it's, I get it that if they're trying to shorten the games and save the bullpen arms and stuff like that, but I'm gonna be honest, the reason why I got an opportunity is because of an extra ending game. You know, like the reason why I got called up is because of an extra ending game and and sitting in AAA, you know, you kind of look for those like long endings.

If you're that fringe player, like, okay, I'm getting called up here to get an opportunity to understand there's a guy coming down. But at the same time, it's just, I don't know, it's just a lot of changes and I,  saw somebody actually put, uh, kind of a good kind of scenario that they felt about that kind of runner on second base, maybe in the ninth, in the 10th inning, it's nobody on base.

And then the 11th inning, maybe we put a guy on first and then maybe the 12th inning we put somebody on second and then the 13th inning beyond, maybe you put somebody at third if it, if it comes down to that. And I like that progression more than, oh, here's somebody at second base.

Yeah. You know, it's like get, I mean, give your guy, I mean give your guys an opportunity. It just, I played in AAA whenever that rule got implemented the first time and, and I was a closer kinda into the bullpen guy sometimes. It just adds a different dynamic. It definitely does.

Oh, it does add a different dynamic.

And I like the idea of yours, of progression, you know?

Mm-hmm.

I don't wanna be sitting there for 17 innings. I'm, I'm done. Them . Yep. But, mm-hmm. , I, I prefer not, and, In those cases. Yes, because it feels like such a cheat in the 10th inning to put a guy on second.

There's just all those rule changes, like I said, I, I mean, I'm, I'm for like helping it out a little bit, you know, like implementing some, I guess like speeding up the gain a little bit.

But I'm going to be honest, we didn't like the game at two hours and 30 minutes, you're not gonna like the game at two hours and 15 minutes.

Amen.

You know, it's tough. Uh, like I said, and this is just my personal opinion, like, I'm, like I said, I'm old school, but at the same time, like I'm glad to see baseball's back.

You know, it's glad to see the balls, uh, getting thrown around the yard again. And these pitchers and catchers report. Hey, it's, it's back.

I'm excited, brother. Like I said, this is starting and been waiting for this day and February 24th. I'm waiting for that day because that's actually when the first Spring training games start.

Mm-hmm. . So, you know, you and I and everybody else will be able to either watch it on the tube or be out there in the park to see those first games. Mm-hmm.  so excitement will out. . Yeah, definitely. While the pitcher has to be considering things differently, I'm thinking about that umpire now. You know, I thought this is one more thing that you have to think about the whole time.

Now, one thing I saw on the MLB network.  was that they're going to give them a buzzer that they can attach to their arm, Jose Altuve style, but you know they can, yeah. Okay. , I shouldn't say that., but they're going to put a buzzer on them so that it, when it hits the time, you know it, so they can still focus on the game and not be looking at clocks the whole time.

They'll have a little buzzer to, to let 'em know when the time is elapsed in that 15 seconds.

Yeah, I mean, they're trying to take the human error out of baseball, you know, and these umpires are even, I think, I think they're trying to implement those, uh, like automatic umpires or the, and I mean, I've, they've already tried that in the, in, what do you call it, the ball league.

And I saw some of those calls, like those balls in the dirt, those curve balls. And I mean, you think about those big curveball benders like Justin Verlander and stuff like that, and getting those calls in the bottom of the zone that end up in the dirt. That's just. , they're hittable. But I, I don't know, like I said, there's, there's rule changes that I wish would like not be implemented, but like I said, I guess it's just kind of the way things are going.