Pitch Clock in Major League Baseball to Feature 40 Second Delay, Will Impact Live Betting

Jennifer Piacenti of Sports Illustrated examined the pitch clock in Major League Baseball and how it will impact live betting on the game.

While live wagering on what will happen next (i.e. scoring a basket, a catch in football) is popular in a number of sports, it is especially possible in Baseball because of the one-on-one matchup aspect: Batter vs. pitcher. 

The pace also provides bookmakers ample time to create new markets.

Ahhh but that pitch clock.

What pitch clock you are asking?

With the new season set to open on Thursday, one of the new features never before used will be a pitch clock.

Major League Baseball has introduced a 15-second pitch clock which is designed to increase pace of play and requires pitchers to throw the ball within 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 seconds with a man on base. If they don’t, a ball will be called. There are also new rules for the batter. Hitters have to be in the box facing the pitcher before the clock ticks down to seven seconds, or they will be tagged with an automatic strike. There’s no doubt, this will make for some interesting pitch counts and much quicker at-bats.

One example Piacenti cites as potentially being impacted by the pitch clock:

A player like Manny Machado could quickly strike out simply because he takes too much time to get back into the batter's box. Machado ordinarily would not be a strikeout candidate.

She also warns:

As the game tempo is expected to increase, bettors should also bear in mind that there will be latency between what they are seeing on the TV screen and what markets are being offered online.

A 40-second delay could wreak havoc as the betting app will not necessarily coincide with what is happening on television.

Pacenti advises to watch your app and not the game during moments of live wagering.

- Tony Caliente, Gambling911.com