Yankees shortstop Jose Caballero has voiced strong criticism against Major League Baseball following a sudden crackdown on his pre-pitch routine, which he believes unfairly targets his established play. MLB instructed umpires to enforce an existing rule restricting hitters from attempting to "deceive a pitcher into beginning their windup or coming to the set position," a directive that impacted Caballero's use of the pitch clock.
Caballero, who has utilized a specific technique to maximize his time within the pitch clock's parameters since its inception in 2023, was issued a pitch-clock violation during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday. This led to arguments, the ejection of hitting coach James Rowson, and ultimately a strikeout. The shortstop contended that his routine, which involves delaying eye contact with the pitcher until there are eight or nine seconds left on the clock, is not an attempt to deceive but a consistent practice.
"Maybe my English is so bad that I don’t understand," Caballero said after the game, "but ‘deceiving’ kind of means that you’re trying to trick someone. And I’m not trying to trick someone because I do the same thing over and over."
The league's focus on Caballero's routine reportedly followed an incident on Monday where Pirates pitcher Dennis Santana expressed frustration with the shortstop's actions, leading to an exchange between the dugouts. Caballero suggested that MLB is aware of its stance's fallibility, stating in an Instagram post, "They know they’re wrong but it’s very difficult to accept that a regular player, who only wants to play the sport he has always loved, can adapt and use it in his game."
Yankees manager Aaron Boone described the league's handling of the situation as "embarrassing," citing a lack of prior warning to Caballero and the team. Caballero echoed this sentiment, writing in his post, "Bottom line... they are in charge and will do and undo whenever and however they want and everyone else has to be silent and obey."