Major League Baseball

Clay Buchholz receives letter from MLB about batter's box violation

Published Apr. 10, 2015 8:45 p.m. ET

foxsports

David Ortiz had a good laugh at Clay Buchholz’s expense Friday.

Buchholz received a letter from Major League Baseball regarding a batter’s box violation in the Boston Red Sox’s Opening Day win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The right-hander apparently stepped out of the batter’s box in his second-inning at-bat, which, according to MLB, violated its new pace-of-play rule mandating the hitter must keep one foot in the box at all times.

Buchholz, of course, batted only because of interleague play, which makes the situation rather absurd, especially when one considers Ortiz’s spring training tirade about MLB’s new rules.

“Buchholz got a letter before me. You believe that? He’s got a letter,” Ortiz said before Friday’s game against the New York Yankees. “‘Hey, buddy, you’re walking out of the box. What’s wrong with you?’”

The good news for Buchholz is that he wasn’t fined by the league. The letter simply was a warning, which makes sense given that he’ll probably only have a few more at-bats this season, anyway.

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