José Caballero and the Yankees are angry with MLB for re-emphasizing a rule without addressing it with them, which contributed to a frustrating 10-inning loss in the opener of a split doubleheader in The Bronx on Wednesday afternoon. 

With two out and a runner on base in the sixth inning, Caballero was called for an automatic strike on a pitch-timer violation.

It was the second strike of the at-bat that would end with him caught looking at strike three.

Caballero routinely waits until the last moment on the clock to engage with the pitcher, looking down for several seconds as he steps into the batter’s box and gets ready to take his at-bat.

By rule, that has to happen when there are eight seconds left on the timer. He was called for the violation with nine seconds to go. 

“Major League Baseball came out with someone new, so we have to go change,” manager Aaron Boone said. 

There is a rule that was adopted in 2023 that says that if a hitter deceives the pitcher, it is considered circumventing the rule, and the umpire can assess a pitch clock violation to the batter.

There was a call between the league office and the umpiring crew about enforcing this rule, but that didn’t involve the Yankees.

It was news to them. 

Asked if he was frustrated that the Yankees weren’t contacted about this ahead of time, Boone replied: “Very, very — embarrassing.” 

Home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott could be heard telling Caballero, “You don’t get to do the three- or four-seconds thing in the box anymore,” after the two engaged in a conversation after the violation was issued.

Caballero responded by telling Wolcott, “You’re picking on me,” multiple times.

Hitting coach James Rowson was ejected shortly after Boone came out to defend Caballero. 

“He’s been warned all season,” Wolcott told a pool reporter. “We were instructed not to warn him. We were instructed to violate him. That’s what it is. It’s a violation.

“There’s no other hitter that gets in the box [and] takes the amount of time that Caballero does while looking down and not making eye contact with the pitcher. Obviously, it’s caused a lot of problems in the past. It’s not going to be allowed anymore.”

Caballero’s pre-pitch antics led to a benches-clearing incident on Monday when Caballero and Pirates pitcher Dennis Santana exchanged words after an at-bat.

At the time, Caballero said he was merely taking his time and following his routine. 

“If you get frustrated, I’m winning. For me, it’s a battle in the box, and I’m trying to win the battle,” he said. “If you are not concentrating 100 percent, I think I’m winning.”

But now, Caballero is going to have to change his routine. He’s not happy about it. 

“I’ve seen other guys do other things and they don’t call anything on them,” Caballero said. “I can name players I’ve seen deceiving the pitchers, but they don’t call it on them. They just call it on me. Like I said, they’re just picking on me.”