Quote:
Originally Posted by AtlUmpSteve
So, some of us umpired in the days before this rule was adopted. After every foul ball retrieved by a catcher in a men's fastpitch game, the ball was ALWAYS thrown to someone other than the pitcher (F3 or F5, depending in which side the ball was retrieved), who was no where near the pitcher, who then threw the ball to someone else who wasn't the pitcher, who had to pat the pitcher on the a$$ before handing him the ball. I am conservatively stating this added AT LEAST 10 minutes of non-action to every game.
In today's female game, there would be another team meeting with high fives and hand slaps, after every foul ball, just like the start of every inning, and the end of every request for time by a defensive player. There is no reason to invite more stoppages; allowing that throw to someone other than the pitcher, and to start the next pitch sequence, would be an open invitation to more "huddles" that aren't conferences.
Since we have so few tools available to keep the game under 2 hours, anymore, I would be really unhappy if that rule was removed (and we couldn't begin a reasonable timing sequence between pitches).
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I was actually playing in the Air Force when this was going on. As an outfielder on the base team, it drove me crazy. It happened more frequently when one of the pitchers was struggling to find the strike zone. As a pitcher on my intramural team, I'd not allow the catcher to throw the ball to anyone but me.
I was very glad when that rule was put in, not sure exactly what year it was.
I agree, we don't need any more artificial delays. In the time that I've been umpiring, I think I called a ball for this violation only once.