generic The entire 2019 Kentucky Derby could have been run between these two MLB pitches
Since taking office on Jan. 25, 2015, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred's top priority has been improving MLB's pace of play.
Since then, we've seen numerous changes made that were geared toward speeding up the game. We've even heard talks of MLB adding a pitch clock to keep things moving.
If you're wondering why Manfred might think a pitch clock is necessary, look no further than this incredible sequence during Friday's Braves-Diamondbacks game in Arizona.
Diamondbacks starter Zack Greinke took his sweet time between pitches to the Braves’ Ozzie Albies during the seventh inning.
How long?
Long enough that the entire 2019 Kentucky Derby could have been completed between them.
Don't believe us? Twitter user Rob Friedman (aka @PitchingNinja) overlapped the videos. You can view the full video here.
Disqualifications and drama aside, the 2019 Kentucky Derby winning time was 2:03.93.
Upon review of the full game footage, the time between Greinke’s pitches was 2:11.00.
Somewhere, Manfred is screaming into his hands.
In Greinke’s defense, it was a key situation. Albies was batting with two runners on base in a tied game. He couldn’t afford to make a mistake, and he didn’t. He ended up getting Albies to fly out to right field, before escaping the jam one batter later.
That capped another strong outing from Arizona’s ace. He limited the Braves to one run on five hits over seven innings. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to earn the victory. The Braves won the game 2-1.
Still, the delay here is certainly cause for concern.
While it’s said the Kentucky Derby is the most exciting two minutes in sports, any two minutes between baseball pitches would have to be the least thrilling in sports. This sequence in particular might be enough to cement a pitch clock’s future in MLB.
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