Jonathan Papelbon has been slapped with another fine related to MLB’s “pacing violation”. This rule which MLB has asked to be more vigorously enforced, limits the time that a pitcher takes to throw the ball.
I’m not a fan of the rule necessarily but I understand why it is in place. Papelbon is certainly familiar with the rule. This incident is the seventh time he’s been hit with this violation. This time he got a $5000 fine to bring his total to $10,000 for fines accrued for this practice.
Some baseball fans (who regard any infraction of the rules baseball as a personal affront) feel Papelbon is doing this because in the words of a commenter in one forum, “the rules are meant for someone else” or that it “shows the type of character he possesses”.
Sheesh.
Papelbon is, in my opinion, simply pitching the best he can in the way that he can. If getting fined a measly (in relative terms) $1,000-$5,000 a shot for a couple times a year in order for him to put up the numbers that he does, he’ll do it.
Should he find a way to hurry his delivery? Probably, unless he doesn’t mind that fine to continue to rise.
At this time, Pap has 34 saves in 37 opportunities with a 1.84 ERA. I’m sure Red Sox fans aren’t complaining about the extra time.
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