Major League Baseball decided to change some rules this offseason in an effort to speed up the pace of the game. Early on, it’s leading longtime veterans to make several adjustments to their normal approach. On Saturday, Madison Bumgarner became the latest victim, in a way.
While he didn’t get in trouble for taking too long to pitch, he did become irritated with how lackadaisical his opponent was when stepping into the batter’s box by yelling at the ump to try and get his way.
Unfortunately, this ended badly for Bumgarner, who proceeded to give up a first-inning grand slam to Trayce Thompson, leading to an early 5-0 deficit for the Arizona Diamondbacks to overcome.
Bumgarner, who’s in his fourth season with the D-backs, was making his first start of the season on Saturday night, in a tough spot on the road at Dodger Stadium. Yet, as a three-time World Series winner and four-time MLB All-Star, Bumgarner should have been able to handle the pressure.
Only, the Bumgarner we see today, the 33-year-old version, isn’t quite the same one we once saw become a Cy Young contender during the early portion of his career. Bumgarner has an ERA of 4.98 across three seasons with the Diamondbacks, yet is the highest-paid member of the team with a salary of $18 million.
Now again, starting with a sky-high ERA, Bumgarner will have his work cut out to get back to a respectable average in his next few starts. Hopefully, they won’t come against the Dodgers again.
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