Mad Max: Scherzer says of pitch clock: ‘Why do we have to be so anal?’

By RONALD BLUM
AP Baseball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer was angry he was stopped from throwing an eighth and usually last warmup pitch before the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies. He said plate umpire Tripp Gibson told him the 2-minute, 15-second clock left him powerless to allow Scherzer the additional toss. Scherzer says: “Why do we have to be so anal about this, to have the clock up everybody’s face, shoved in everybody’s face, and try to step out every little single second that’s going through the game?” He adds: “It’s situations like that that really are frustrating for not only for pitchers, players but even the umpires.”