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Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman made history in his 2023 debut. In the process, he became an answer to future MLB trivia questions.
Stroman became the first player to violate the league’s new pitch clock rule. The infraction occurred in Chicago’s season opener versus NL Central rival Milwaukee.
While facing off against Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich, the ace took a bit too much time in his delivery to the plate. After coming set, he eyed down a runner on second base.
The attempt to keep the baserunner close backfired as the final seconds ticked from the pitch clock. The result was a timeout call from the umpire behind the plate, followed by a ball to the batter.
Marcus Stroman has been called for the first regular season pitch-clock violation in MLB history pic.twitter.com/hqQ1MUmfy4
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 30, 2023
Fans were quick to react to the violation. Here’s what they had to say.
One person wrote, “This will be a trivia question answer soon.” Someone else commented, “If there had to be a first, I’m glad it was him.”
Luckily for Marcus Stroman, the infraction didn’t hurt the Cubs too much. The righty was electric on the mound, striking out eight Brewers hitters over six scoreless innings.
Chicago tagged Milwaukee ace Corbin Burnes for four runs over his five innings of work, knocking the former Cy Young winner out of action early.
With the win, the Cubs are off to a 1-0 start in the NL Central race. They’re looking to get back to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. Chicago’s finished at least 14 games below .500 in each of the last two campaigns.
Things couldn’t have gone much better in the season opener, though, even with Marcus Stroman ending up on the wrong side of history with his pitch clock violation.