Home plate umpire John Tumpane grants time to batter Victor Caratini, of the Houston Astros, during a plate appearance against Chad Patrick and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Timeout!

Each batter has one timeout that they can use during a plate appearance— or even before a plate appearance, if they take it before the pitcher throws their first pitch. To take this timeout, they must ask the home plate umpire for time. As long as the pitcher hasn’t already gone into their motion, the umpire will usually grant the request. The batter can then step out of the box, collect their thoughts/fidget with their equipment, and step back in once they are ready. When they step back in, the umpire starts a new pitch timer.

If the batter either requests a timeout that isn’t granted, or they have already taken their timeout, the pitch timer will continue to run, and the batter risks either being called for an automatic strike, or for watching a pitch come in that they are in no position to hit¹.