Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Here's How ESPN's MLB Production Team Is Adapting to the New Pitch Clock

20/03/2023

Here's How ESPN's MLB Production Team Is Adapting to the New Pitch Clock Rule changes spur broadcasters to modify their approach to baseball coverage By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor

Monday, March 20, 2023 - 2:31 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

The first pitch of the 2023 MLB season has yet to be thrown, but much has already been made of the new pitch clock. Although the new rule - one of several intended to improve the pace of play this season - has forced pitchers and hitters to dramatically rethink their routines, broadcasters like ESPN are having to alter their approach to covering the game.

Whenever there are big rule changes like this, every [broadcaster] has to address and deal with documenting the action as the primary goal and using your discretionary time to the best of your ability, says ESPN VP, Production, Phil Orlins. Obviously, it feels like a dominant storyline during Spring Training, and I think it's going to feel like an important storyline the first couple of weeks of the season. But I do think it's going to naturally ebb and flow to where it becomes more routine as time goes on - for [broadcasters], players, and fans.

Orlins has a basis for the claim: the pitch clock was tested in the minor leagues last season, and violations dropped dramatically as players got more accustomed to the rule. Nonetheless, as the age of the pitch clock begins, production teams and announcers have had to fundamentally change the way they present the game to fans.

How the Pitch Timer Works As a result of the 30-second pitch timer between batters - along with the elimination of defensive shifts and addition of enlarged bases - games that previously pushed well past the three-hour mark are taking 2 hours or less during Spring Training.

According to the official MLB rulebook, between pitches, a 15-second timer will be in place with the bases empty and a 20-second timer with runners on base. The pitcher must begin his motion to deliver the pitch before the expiration of the pitch timer. Pitchers who violate the timer are charged with an automatic ball. Batters who violate it are charged with an automatic strike. Batters must be in the box and alert to the pitcher by the 8-second mark or be charged with an automatic strike.

MLB is instituting a 30-second pitch timer this season.

With runners on base, the timer resets if the pitcher attempts a pickoff or steps off the rubber. Pitchers are limited to two disengagements (pickoff attempts or step-offs) per plate appearance, but the limit is reset if a runner or runners advance. In the event of a third, unsuccessful pickoff attempt, the runner automatically advances one base.

Learning Curve During Spring Training The most important issue for broadcasters is how to present the pitch clock on-screen. Although most agree that it should be integrated into the miniboard (or scorebug) graphic, the debate continues on when: whether it should appear only during key moments (for example, 10 seconds left) or for the entire 30 seconds.

During Spring Training, many broadcasters were not given access to the pitch-clock data until seven seconds were left on the clock. As a result, many have opted to integrate the old-school camera shot of the clock (reminiscent of the NBA's shot clock half a century ago) into the miniboard graphic. During Spring Training coverage, ESPN puts the camera shot of the pitch clock just to the right of the miniboard graphic.

The way our miniboard lays out with a horizontal rectangle layout, notes Orlins, it happened to be easy to align the old-school camera shot alongside the miniboard and still work within our established space. It was definitely good to Get some Spring Training in [with the pitch clock], but, that said, we expect to get to the API-triggered data version in the miniboard on Opening Night and integrated into that same amount of space where we did the camera shot.

We're confident, he continues, that we're going to get access to the API for the pitch clock much earlier [in the at-bat] by Opening Night. We're in discussions on that right now. I think it's absolutely mandatory that we have it [displayed] before eight seconds since the batter has to be in the box and engaged at that point and probably well before that.

The Scorebug Impact During the regular season, ESPN plans to integrate the pitch clock into the scorebug alongside a pitch total along the bottom right of the miniboard and will incorporate additional graphical alerts as the clock gets closer to zero to indicate a pitcher or batter violation (see video example below).

I've never believed that constantly taking things in and out [of the miniboard] to make it more subtle was less intrusive to the viewer, says Orlins. For the most part, we are going to just leave [the pitch clock] there and let it roll so everyone can see it. When the viewer wants to find it, they'll find it; when they don't, it will be far less jarring than constantly bringing it in and out. If people see the clock count from 30 with the next hitter coming up, that's just fine. It's more comfortable and constantly available - just like the experience [for fans] at the ballpark.

Impact on the Front Bench Although the miniboard aspect is most apparent on-screen, the pitch clock's existential challenge to baseball coverage is at the front bench and in the announcers booth. The average time between batted-ball events in the middle of the 20th century was roughly 2 minutes, but today's directors, producers, and playcallers have typically had nearly four minutes on average between key moments.

Says Orlins, It's very similar to football, where [broadcasters] had a rhythm based on huddles after every play and then, inside the final two minutes, teams start going into hurry-up o
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2023/03/20/heres-how-espns-mlb-production-...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

01/09/2026

IBC 2026: Bridge Technologies Adds Blackmagic IP10 Support to VB440 Production Probe

Bridge Technologies will announce at IBC2026 (Booth 1.A71) that its VB440 produc...

01/09/2026

DAZN to Acquire EverPass Media to Expand U.S. Commercial Venue Distribution

DAZN has announced an agreement to acquire EverPass Media, a commercial sports distribution platform serving bars, restaurants, hotels, and other venues in the ...

01/09/2026

Kalshi Named Official Prediction Market Partner of the US Open

The USTA and Kalshi have announced a multi-year partnership making Kalshi the Official Prediction Market Partner of the US Open, beginning with the 2026 US Open...

01/09/2026

IBC 2026: MASV to Showcase Sports Video Transfer Workflows

MASV will exhibit at IBC2026 (Booth 5.B40, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14). CTO Majed Alhajry will appear on a panel session, A Tale of Two Feeds: Automation o...

01/09/2026

IBC 2026: FingerWorks Telestrators Partners with Broadcast Rental for European Distribution

FingerWorks Telestrators has announced a partnership with Broadcast Rental to ex...

01/09/2026

IBC 2026: FOR-A Expands viztrick AiDi into Two Dedicated Products

FOR-A has announced the expansion of viztrick AiDi into two dedicated products: Go Vertical! AiDi and AiDi Sports Hub. Developed by Nippon TV and delivered glob...

01/09/2026

Sony Launches Live TV on PS5 with Free Ad-Supported Streaming in the U.S.

Sony Pictures Television has launched Live TV on PS5, a free ad-supported streaming experience available to PS5 players in the United States. The service is acc...

01/09/2026

Friedrichstadt-Palast Installs Riedel Production Infrastructure

Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin has installed a Riedel production infrastructure spanning video, intercom, control, and I/O across the venue, implemented in col...

01/09/2026

IBC 2026: Arkona Partners with BFE for Arkona-Branded Control Panels

Arkona technologies GmbH has announced an OEM partnership with BFE Studio und Medien Systeme GmbH to offer arkona-branded control panels for its SDI-IP routing ...

01/09/2026

Cricket Australia Launches Cricket TV Streaming Service on Eluvio Platform

Cricket Australia has launched Cricket TV, a direct-to-consumer streaming service built on Eluvio's Content Fabric platform. The service is currently in ear...

01/09/2026

Eluvio Selected to Power Pasifika+ Streaming Service for Pacific Island Communities

Eluvio has announced it was selected to power Pasifika , a new direct-to-consume...

01/09/2026

Layercake Names Jon Marquard as Director/Chairperson

Layercake, the company behind the intelligent media workflow platform Streamcake, has appointed Jon Marquard as Director and Chairperson. The appointment marks ...

01/09/2026

Gravity Media Extends Powercor Stawell Gift Broadcast Agreement Through 2031

Gravity Media has announced a multi-year renewal of its agreement with Stawell Gift Event Management to produce the complete broadcast of the Powercor Stawell G...

01/09/2026

IBC 2026: Beam Dynamics Makes Debut with License Intelligence Module

Beam Dynamics will exhibit at IBC2026 for the first time (Stand 14.FT29, Hall 14), introducing License Intelligence, a new module for managing software licenses...

01/09/2026

ZOO Digital Selects Interra Systems BATON for File-Based Quality Control

Interra Systems has announced that ZOO Digital has selected BATON for file-based quality control across its media workflows. ZOO Digital delivers localized ente...

01/09/2026

IBC 2026: Bridge Technologies Deploys VB330 Monitoring at Sunrise

Bridge Technologies has announced the deployment of its VB330 monitoring probe at Sunrise, supporting the Swiss telecommunications provider's IP-based telev...

01/09/2026

Riedel Expands Coach Communications Partnership with Scottish Rugby Union

Riedel Communications has announced the continued expansion of its managed coach communications partnership with Scottish Rugby Union, now entering its third se...

01/09/2026

Behind The Mic: Football Season Approaches, as Networks Name On Air Talent for NFL, College Broadcasts

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

01/09/2026

IBC 2026: SMPTE Brings Full-Day Software-Defined Infrastructure Roadshow

SMPTE today detailed the centerpiece of its IBC2026 program: the SMPTE Roadshow: Future of Media Infrastructure, a full-day workshop on Monday, 14 September, th...

01/09/2026

Sound Particles & SOS Webinar: John Warhurst

Inside the Music and Sound of Michael Sound Particles have announced an upcoming webinar with John Warhurst, the Academy Award- and BAFTA-winning supervisin...

01/09/2026

Roland launch FP-40 piano & Piano Sphere app

Piano offers tutorials, lessons & feedback via app Roland have just launched a new digital piano that integrates with a mobile app in an effort to encourage...

01/09/2026

Trinnov Nova goes immersive

Update introduces 7.1.4 support via Dante Trinnov have just announced a software update that will allow Nova units with eight licensed Optimizer channels to...

01/09/2026

SBS secures exclusive rights to FIFA World Cup 2030

SBS secures exclusive rights to FIFA World Cup 2030 1 September, 2026 Media releases Major sports rights deal ensures all Australians will be able to view...

01/09/2026

SBS announces the launch of outcomes-based measurement across its network

SBS announces the launch of outcomes-based measurement across its network 1 September, 2026 Media releases New offer sees national broadcaster put outcomes...

01/09/2026

Revealed: The Booster Economy' how $140bn+ in everyday inheritances' is funding the lifestyles of the next generation

Revealed: The Booster Economy' how $140bn+ in everyday inheritances'...

01/09/2026

SBS census explorer to provide new insights into contemporary Australia

SBS census explorer to provide new insights into contemporary Australia 1 September, 2026 Media releases The 2026 Census Explorer will give marketers new i...

01/09/2026

SBS and oOh!media launch exclusive SBS News content partnership across office, airports and universities

SBS and oOh!media launch exclusive SBS News content partnership across office, a...

01/09/2026

SBS offers marketers greater reach with extension into outdoor, creator economy and retail

SBS offers marketers greater reach with extension into outdoor, creator economy ...

01/09/2026

SBS and The Guardian join forces to supersize sustainability challenge for 2027

SBS and The Guardian join forces to supersize sustainability challenge for 2027 1 September, 2026 Media releases SBS Media and Guardian Australia have join...

01/09/2026

SBS goes deeper in 2027 with provocative Australian documentaries, star-studded global drama, and unmissable events

SBS goes deeper in 2027 with provocative Australian documentaries, star-studded ...

01/09/2026

Amazon MGM Studios commission thriller based on Stephen King short story, Crouch End

Amazon MGM Studios have commissioned a new thrilling 6-part drama, Crouch End, b...

01/09/2026

Nielsen Announces New Local Methodology Enhancements

New York August 31, 2026 Nielsen is announcing four new local methodology enhancements that will be activated into Local TV currency data starting today, Au...

01/09/2026

Broadcasters Gain Flexibility in Pursuit of 5G Multicasting

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/09/2026

Winning the Fight Against Churn

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/09/2026

How Multiviewers Are Evolving Into Information Hubs'

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/09/2026

IBC2026: New Audio Tools on Tap from Telos Alliance

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/09/2026

SMPTE Roadshow to Examine Media Infrastructure at IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/09/2026

Roku Debuts Its First 4K OLED TVs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/09/2026

Mark Vinten Joins ASG's Audio and Postproduction Team

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/09/2026

Pronology Introduces New StreamFile Core Capabilities at...

Pronology, a developer of cutting-edge broadcast workflow solutions, showcases the newest capabilities for its StreamFile Core platform at the 2026 IBC Show (S...

01/09/2026

PROTON Unveils Next-Generation FLEXY Camera at IBC 2026

PROTON Unveils Next-Generation FLEXY Camera at IBC 2026 Brie Clayton September 1, 2026 0 Comments 10-metre serialised coax unlocks new perspectives an...

01/09/2026

Hulu Drama The Season Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio

Hulu Drama The Season Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio Brie Clayton September 1, 2026 0 Comments Senior Colorist Mark Kueper of Picture Shop crafts ...

01/09/2026

Pluxbox Launches CoreOC to Transform Mission-Critical Media Operations

Pluxbox Launches CoreOC to Transform Mission-Critical Media Operations Brie Clayton September 1, 2026 0 Comments A vendor-agnostic operational control l...

01/09/2026

Layercake Appoints Former FOX SPORTS and Network Ten COO...

Layercake, the company behind the intelligent media workflow platform Streamcake, today announced the appointment of Jon Marquard as Director and Chairperson. T...

01/09/2026

Actus Digital Unveils the Future of Broadcast Monitoring...

Actus Digital, a LiveU company, will unveil the next generation of its Actus X platform at IBC2026 on LiveUs Stand 7.C24, demonstrating how broadcasters can sim...

01/09/2026

Studio Automated and Egripment Power the Tactical Feed fo...

Broadcast Solutions, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, delivered transformational technology a...

01/09/2026

OTV turns to Quortex to replace legacy video hardware

Quortex, the intelligent video technology company carved out from Synamedia by Lumine Group, today announced that Odisha Television Network (OTV), the leading r...