José Caballero said he entered Tuesday’s sport against the White Sox still unclear of the pitch clock rule that he’s usually been in a position to use to his benefit.
The difficulty stemmed from Sunday’s controversy in Toronto, where Caballero was issued a warning for not participating with the pitcher with eight seconds left on the clock.
“I’m still waiting [for] the actual rule,’’ Caballero said before going 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBIs in the Yankees’ series-opening 12-2 win against Chicago in The Bronx. “That’s it.”
Aaron Boone, though, said he had a prolonged chat with the league Monday and handed alongside some of the messaging to Caballero.
The difficulty, Boone said, is that the umpires want to see that Caballero doesn’t just have his head up by eight seconds, but is also “alert” at that time.
“I certainly understand what he’s trying to do, and he has a rhythm and a process to get locked in,” Boone said. “We think it’s within the rules.”
If there’s a change, it’s that Caballero has to perceive what “alert” means — and that he doesn’t step out of the batter’s field unless the umpire says the pitcher hasn’t engaged him in time.
“I tried to get very specific and give José some instruction where we should be OK,” Boone said.
The Yankees don’t need to take away that facet of Caballero’s sport, with Boone noting that his capability to irritate the opposition is one of the points of his sport that intrigued them when he was with the Rays.
Caballero, evidently still mystified, said he would ask the home plate umpire as he got to the plate for the first time to get the umpire’s interpretation of the rule.
“They’ve been altering the rule every single day,’’ Caballero said.
One potential difficulty is that Caballero often holds his bat in a hitting place while not trying up for an prolonged interval of time, which arguably violates the rule that prohibits hitters from making an attempt to “deceive” pitchers.
A smiling José Caballero appears to be like up to the sky after belting a solo home run in the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 12-2 blowout win over the White Sox on June 16, 2026 at the Stadium. Robert Sabo for New York Post
Toronto supervisor John Schneider was sad with Caballero on Sunday, saying he’s the only player who’s utilizing his strategies.
Caballero said he was unaware of and not in Schneider’s feedback.
To Caballero, it’s about controlling the at-bat.
“I’m not gonna give my at-bat to a pitcher to decide my timing,’’ Caballero said.
He added he was “pretty annoyed” that he’s being stopped from what he believes is truthful play.
And Boone tends to agree with his player.
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“I think the way he articulates it makes a lot of sense,’’ Boone said. “You see night in and night out, different pitchers try to hold the ball. Batters can take control of the situation. Every batter has a mentality of how to get focused and their process. That’s what he’s doing.”
The supervisor added he’s “surprised” more hitters don’t take a related method.
“He’s a smart, gritty player and there’s some gamesmanship to what he does,’’ Boone said. “He’s using the rules to the best of his ability to his advantage. There’s nothing he’s doing . … Maybe I am surprised other guys don’t do that. The last thing I want to do as a hitter is be at the mercy of a pitcher for 15 to 17 seconds, where they can control the pace and tempo.”
And if it bothers the opposition, so be it.
“It’s heady stuff he does,” Boone said. “I’ve been on the other side. I understand it gets under their skin. Part of that is why we got him over here.”
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