Yankees' Jose Caballero Responds to MLB in Statement After Pitch Clock Violation

New York Yankees utility man José Caballero offered a scathing statement one day after plate umpire Quinn Wolcott gave him a pitch-clock violation for his habit of waiting just before the pitch clock hit eight seconds before making eye contact with pitchers.

According to the Associated Press, Major League Baseball had grown "weary" of Caballero's antics and "told umpires Wednesday his regimen amounted to deception." That prompted Wolcott's decision and ultimately led to hitting coach James Rowson being ejected.

After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone claimed that "Major League Baseball came out with something new today."

"I've been told very specifically over and over when we have had issues, when I've had my conversations with the league—[Caballero] has to be alert at eight seconds," Boone told reporters. "That's making sure Cabby looks up at nine [seconds], just make sure he's in. That's very specifically what I've been told. And today was something different. And they didn't give us the heads up."

Crew chief Adrian Johnson offered a different perspective on the matter.

"[Caballero's] been warned all season," he told reporters after the game. "We were instructed not to warn him. We were instructed to violate him. That's what it is. It's a violation."

Caballero's antics aren't popular among opponents and recently led to a benches-clearing stand-off between the Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates after Dennis Santana took exception.

"Just don't (take) that long (at) home plate and that's it," Santana told reporters after the game when asked what he said to Caballero.

Boone himself has said he has a "love-hate" relationship with Caballero and noted back in June that the utilityman will "drive you nuts sometimes and then you want to give him a hug when he gets a base hit and drives in the [second] run. He's our Cabby."

He also said Wednesday that Caballero wasn't his favorite player before he joined the Yankees.

"He's one of those guys I would yell at from the dugout," Boone told reporters. "He was a pest, and I didn't like it. Now I like him because he's a good player and he's on our side. But yeah, we've had a laugh about that."