One complaint some have with baseball is the amount of time between pitches. Whether it’s players stepping out of the batter’s box for practice swings or to adjust batting gloves, it all adds to the length of games, which has been a criticism of the sport for years.
Another thing you’ll often see is a batter calling for time after both he and the pitcher are set. Often times, the home plate umpire grants the request. On Wednesday, with Adrian Beltre at the plate, that wasn’t the case.
During the third inning, Beltre raised his hand motion for time and proceeded to step out of the batter’s box. Unfortunately for him, home plate umpire Bill Miller did not stop play. So, Dallas Keuchel continued his delivery and tossed a slider. To Beltre’s dismay, Miller called it strike three.
The umpire, of course, does not have to grant the batter’s request and Bill Miller looked like he really wasn’t trying to hear what Beltre or manager Ron Washington had to say afterward.
Later in the game, Beltre again called for time, yelling loud enough that it was picked up on the television broadcast so he was heard by Miller. Adrian Beltre got jokes.
