Umpire Warns Caballero for Pitch Clock Delay Strategy

When Yankees batter José Caballero delayed looking up at Blue Jays pitcher Spencer Miles in Toronto, HP Umpire Steven Jaschinski warned New York for an illegal delay tactic, leading to widespread confusion and online outrage that one viral content creator described as the umpire creating a new rule mid-game to punish a player he found annoying.

Rather than click-bait our way to viral monetization at the expense of factuality and reason, we've waited a bit to digest the play, research the rules, and cite our sources as we analyze what exactly happened at Rogers Centre.

With none out and one on in the top of the 6th inning, Caballero stepped into the batter's box, but kept his head down as he took his preparatory stance. By doing so, Caballero might have sought to induce pitcher Miles to come set and commit a pitch clock violation for coming set before the batter was alert to (looking at) the pitcher.

When MLB first introduced its pitch clock rules in 2023 Spring Training, it prescribed three timed responsibilities: catchers had to be in the catcher's box by the timer's nine-second mark, batters had to be in the box and alert to the pitcher by eight seconds, and the pitcher had to begin their delivery prior to the expiration of time.

Shortly thereafter, pitcher Max Scherzer attempted to catch batters off-guard by coming set and immediately firing home as soon as the batter began to look up. Nary a week later, MLB issued a new rule prohibiting pitchers from coming set before the batter becomes alert.

Related Post: Is Max Scherzer's Set Position Pitch Clock Strategy Legal? (3/4/23).

Related Post: MLB's Max Scherzer Rule - Pitcher Can't Come Set Before Batter is Ready (3/12/23).

One month later, Red Sox pitcher Kenley Jansen found himself called for three Scherzer Rule pitch timer violations as HP Umpire Derek Thomas ruled that Jansen came set before Cardinals batter Willson Contreras took his position with both feet in the batter's box and became alert to the pitcher. Once again, MLB issued a memo declaring a new pitch clock policy: batters could no longer induce Scherzer Rule violations by delaying their box entry or alertness by momentarily looking at the pitcher and then looking away as the pitcher comes set. Batters would now be considered alert (and thus pitchers eligible to come set) once they placed one foot in the batter's box and upon the first moment they looked at the pitcher, even if they looked away again.

Related Post: Kenley Jansen Called for 3 Pitch Timer Violations in Boston (5/14/23).

Related Post: Pitch Clock Chaos - Introducing The Contreras Rule (5/24/23).

This new Contreras Rule explained Diamondbacks batter Josh Rojas and Phillies pitcher Craig Kimbrel's pitch clock violation duel in May 2023, culminating with a confrontation that umpires had to break up. MLB effectively declared that neither pitchers (Scherzer Rule) nor batters (Contreras Rule) could attempt to circumnavigate the pitch clock rules to try and gain an unfair advantage.

Back to the present day, when Yankees batter Caballero stepped into the box, he briefly flashed a glance at Toronto pitcher Miles before looking down and delaying his gaze at the pitcher. But because of the three-year-old Contreras Rule, HP Umpire Jaschinski warned Caballero for attempting to circumvent the pitch clock rules to gain an advantage by trying to bait the pitcher into a violation, the first infraction of which is a warning. Had Caballero committed a second Contreras Rule violation, he would have been charged a strike.

So while the Daily News declared, "Caballero did nothing wrong," that declaration happens to be devoid of accuracy.

Video as follows:

MLB Ejection 047 - Steven Jaschinski (1; John Schneider)

HP Umpire Steven Jaschinski ejected Blue Jays manager John Schneider (step balk call on Jeff Hoffman; QOCY) in the top of the 8th inning of the #Yankees-#BlueJays game. With one out and one on, Yankees batter Max Scheumann took a 1-0 slider from Blue Jays pitcher Hoffman for a called strike as Yankees baserunner R1 Jazz Chisholm stole second base. On the ensuing pitch, pitcher Hoffman faked a pickoff throw to second base, but was called for a balk by HP Umpire Jaschinski. Replays indicate pitcher Hoffman failed to step directly toward second base before feigning to that base, the call was correct.* At the time of the ejection, the game was tied, 3-3. The Yankees ultimately won the contest, 8-3.

This is Steven Jaschinski (65)'s 1st ejection of 2026.

*Official Baseball Rule 6.02(a)(3): "If there is a runner, or runners, it is a balk when the pitcher, while touching their plate, fails to step directly toward a base before throwing to that base."

MLB Umpire Manual: "NOTE: The pitcher is required to step directly toward a base when feinting a

throw to a base (Under current rules, the only base a pitcher may feint to is second)"

This is the 47th ejection report of the 2026 MLB regular season.

This is the 28th manager ejection of 2026. Ejection Tally: 28 Managers, 5 Coaches, 14 Players.

This is Toronto's 3rd ejection of 2026, 1st in the AL East (NYY, TB, TOR 3; BAL 2; BOS 1).

This is John Schneider's 2nd ejection of 2026, 1st since April 7 (Kevin Gausman; QOC = Y [Balk]).

This is Steven Jashinski's first career MLB ejection.

Wrap: New York Yankees vs Toronto Blue Jays, 6/14/26 | Video as follows:

Teachable - Base Touch with MiLB Runner Missing HP

This Tmac's Teachable Moment spies a minor league batter-runner who failed to touch home plate after a HR during the Class-A Carolina League playoffs and HP Umpire Steven Jaschinski, who spotted the infraction when Fayetteville Woodpeckers 2B Miguelangel Sierra broke up Down East Wood Ducks pitcher Sal Mendez's no-hitter with a fifth-inning fly ball over the outfield wall at SEGRA Stadium.

As the batter-runner rounded third base and trotted toward home, he leapt in the air during his final stride and, in doing so, jumped over and past home plate in celebration without physically touching the base.

HP Umpire Jaschinski's eyes were trained directly at the modified 17-inch-wide pentagon and Down East catcher Sam Huff presumably noticed the flubbed footwork as well, as the defense executed an appeal on the runner's non-touch of home after Jaschinski put the ball in play, resulting in an out and downgrading the batter-runner's home run to a triple (still breaking up the no-no, but preserving the shutout).

Umpires should ensure the appeal is proper.

It's important for our umpire-in-chief, in addition to watching for the base touch (or lack thereof) to know when the ball is dead vs alive (Jaschinski clearly indicates the dead ball becoming live again by signaling "Play!") and to wait for the pitcher to engage the mound with a new baseball before putting the ball back in play. Once the ball is live again, the pitcher must legally disengage the rubber (lest (s)he balk [if there are runner[s]] or throw an actual pitch and lose the right to appeal) and cause the base-to-be-appealed to be tagged.

In this case (in most cases), F1 Mendez threw to F2 Huff, who stepped on home plate...but a pitcher could also theoretically run with the ball and touch his own foot to the base instead...maybe for scoring purposes, a pitcher hypothetically wants the single-game putout record for pitchers? Always expect the unexpected.

Finally, after selling his call and speaking with the offense's manager (the third base coach in this MiLB game), Jaschinski makes it excruciatingly clear what has happened by motioning to the press box that the run does not count.

This Tmac's Teachable Moments analysis is brought to you by Umpire Placement Course.

Video as follows: