As a Little League umpire for a few years, a recent team in an all-star tournament has brought about such a vigorous intensity in their dugout, I question whether their chatter becomes too distracting to the pitcher of the opposing team. Here's the scoop: While the offensive team is at bat, the remaining players of that team get up against their dugout fence, and scream their own batter's name or nickname in an effort to rally behind him. However, their banter seems to share the same volume of a jet engine, which can lead to the defensive team not only being distracted, but not being able to hear communication from each other or from the coaches. The chatter then continues through the entire wind-up and delivery of the pitcher. Now I realize the defense can chatter "Hey Batter Batter!" but in our league, the chatter or yelling of "Swing" must come to a stop before the release of the pitcher, as to not be distracting to the batter. Therefore, I wonder if the offensive chattering previously stated should be stopped after the pitcher gets ready to deliver, even though the chatter isn't directed toward the defensive team. Let me know what you think...
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