Padres News: Juan Soto Says it Could Take the Whole Year to Adjust to Pitch Clock

Get used to the struggles for a bit Padres fans.

The San Diego Padres have gotten a very quick welcome this season to the new pitch clock and it has not been a warm one. Manny Machado got into a heated argument over it with an umpire and got ejected while numerous Friars have simply struggled to adapt to the new process.

Juan Soto has definitely been one of those and even though he's had some solid outings, like when he went 2-3 with a home run against the Atlanta Braves' Charlie Morton, the struggles have been clear in 2023. 

The numbers for the superstar are starting to climb a bit but he is currently slashing .217/.368/.478 and hasn't been the home run maestro that we've come to know and love. He's been pretty vocal about it recently, looking specifically towards the pitch clock and also shutting down rumors that his technique is off.

When speaking to the San Diego-Union Tribune's Kevin Acee, Soto guaranteed that he is trying his best to get accustomed and revealed that it may take the entire year to base his routine around the pitch clock.

Juan Soto absolutely demolished this baseball pic.twitter.com/9Fkx4fLADe

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 12, 2023

“I’ve been trying,” said Soto. “I’ve been trying to figure out the timeouts and everything. Rushing a little bit into the plate. Making sure I have time to do all my routine. Now I know how much time I need to fix everything. “I think it’s going to be like that the whole year. Probably going to take at least one year until the guys get used to it.”

(Via The San Diego-Union Tribune)

It is definitely not just Soto or even the Padres as a team that is struggling with all the challenges that come with the clock. It has been a major point of criticism around the league to start off the season but that was expected.

The MLB is happy with results of faster games so far and it's clear they expect stars like Soto to be okay eventually.