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NY Post
New York Post
5 Apr 2023


NextImg:Batboys, batgirls feeling pressure of MLB’s new reality: ‘A little crazy’

Baseball fans seem to be loving the shorter MLB games that have come as a result of the league’s new pitch clock, but some vital members of the operation are less than thrilled.

USA Today spoke to a number of batboys and batgirls, who implied that the new rule changes are making their jobs a lot more difficult — and potentially may lead to drastic changes within the job.

“I think it’s a little crazy,” Tino Vigil, a 24-year-old batboy for the Colorado Rockies, told the outlet. “I think trying to speed everything up probably isn’t the best thing in the world.”

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Batboys before a Pirates-Rangers spring training game
AP

Batboys are dealing with MLB's new pitch clock rules.

Batboys are dealing with MLB’s new pitch clock rules.
Getty Images

With less time between pitches, batboys — who largely learned of the rule changes through social media — have been forced to scramble at times, with one Rangers batboy having to duck into the wrong team’s dugout during a spring training game.

“My legs hurt more when the game is over,” said Tim Plummer, a batboy for the Rangers.

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Many of the batboys are not exactly boys — some of them are older men, and most of them are getting paid meager salaries for long days of work.

    Per USA Today, a job listing for Royals batboy listed a salary range of $39,469 to $51,435 per year, while an hourly rate for the Reds was $16.21 to $20.95.

    With the decreased time between pitches and batters, the job becomes more grueling.

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    Want to catch a game? The Yankees schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.

    Batboys are dealing with MLB's new pitch clock rules.

    Batboys are dealing with MLB’s new pitch clock rules.
    Anthony J Causi for NY Post

    Cleveland batboys in simpler times — during a 2017 game.

    Cleveland batboys in simpler times — during a 2017 game.
    Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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    The new rules — a 15-second pitch clock with the bases empty and 20 seconds with a runner on — are having the intended impact.

    Game times are down from an average of 3:04 last season to 2:38 in the first week of this season, the AP reported.

    “You can’t be sprinting out of the dugout the first couple of innings because then you’ll get winded,” Vigil said. “Another thing is if you have to use the restroom, it’s kind of tough to add that break in there, too. Or even deliver water to the umpires. So there’s a lot of parts and pieces that are going into it.”