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Honestly, why as umpires should we care that the defense plunks the announced last batter? It's the nature of the beast when you use a time limit of "X:XX, finish the batter".
Really no different than when rec ball uses a "once around the order" limit so that nobody bats a second time in the inning; if the pitcher plunks the batter, what is it to us other than, maybe, us ruling unsporting conduct? I'm not going to let that prevent me from letting everyone know that the time limit has been reached and the current batter up to bat is the last batter of the game.
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"Let's face it. Umpiring is not an easy or happy way to make a living. In the abuse they suffer, and the pay they get for it, you see an imbalance that can only be explained by their need to stay close to a game they can't resist." -- Bob Uecker
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