Overview
- Umpires assessed José Caballero an automatic strike during the sixth inning of a July 22 split doubleheader after enforcing a pitch‑clock violation that helped lead to his strikeout and the ejection of Yankees hitting coach James Rowson.
- Crew chief Adrian Johnson told reporters MLB directed umpires to stop warning Caballero and to call violations for behavior the league views as deceiving pitchers.
- The call invoked MLB’s Pace of Game Procedures, which say batters who try to deceive a pitcher into beginning a windup can be warned and then charged with a pitch‑clock violation that counts as a strike.
- The Yankees and Caballero say they received no advance notice of the enforcement change and argue he is being singled out, with manager Aaron Boone calling MLB’s handling “embarrassing.”
- Caballero was previously warned about the routine on June 14 and earlier in the week his tactic sparked a benches‑clearing exchange, so the new enforcement is likely to force him to alter his pre‑pitch routine and could produce more on‑field disputes given the rule’s subjective judgment.