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Originally Posted by ajjl22
What you needed was a wider angle on the shot. If the pitcher is ready to go and the batter is out of the box, then that is when you start reminding the players to stay in the box. There were a couple of pitchs were the batter stepped out and did not take signs.
In my game yesterday, I had a couple kids doing there rituals after every pitch, I reminded them to keep a foot in the box and it eliminated the three practice swings after taking the signs. This rule is trying to eliminate the crap that goes on between the end of the signs and the batter getting into the box. the game was over in an 1:37.
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You're right, it is not a delay until the battery is ready. Only
then is the batter delaying the game.
But, wouldn't he
still be delaying the game if the battery were ready and he had only one foot in the batter's box? As far as the game progressing, having one foot out is as good as having both feet out.
The question that it really comes down to is this: WHY isn't the batter ready?
Is he getting the signs from the coach? That should be permitted.
Is he taking practice swings ... that should not be permitted.
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Look at he videoclips again. There are 5 separate batters.
Clip 1 - This is the lengthiest out-of-the-box segment of them all. But *all* that time is spent looking at the coach as he goes through a particularly lengthy set of signals. You can see the coach doing this. The "practice swings" taken by the batter are really not practice swings at all, more of a nervous something-to-do while the coach goes through his signals. The game is not delayed because the batter is out of the box, it is delayed because the coach is giving signals. The very moment the coach is finished, the batter promptly walks into the box. The "extra" time expended between having one foot out and both feet out can be measured in fractions of a second. It would take longer to enforce the rule than to ignore it.
Clip 2 - The batter steps out, checks with the coach, and promptly steps back into the batter's box. As the batter steps back into the batter's box, the catcher is just beginning to get the signal from his coach regarding the next pitch. The batter is ready sooner than the catcher. No practice swings ... no fidgeting. Not one thing is done while out of the batter's box that can be remotely considered extraneous. He's doing nothing but looking at his coach. Total time out of the box - 8 seconds. Do you know of any pitcher that delivers the next pitch within 8 seconds after the previous hits the catcher's mitt?
Clip 3 - The batter is back in the box while the catcher is still standing up. Who's delaying the game now?
Clip 4 - Out and in. To say that this batter delayed the game would border on ridiculous.
Clip 5 - This is a bad example because the pitch is in the dirt. Although the catcher cleanly comes up with it, this is actually one of the "exceptions" listed under 7-3-1. Nonetheless, there really is no delay here. If you just watch the batter, you would think he is delaying the game. He even takes a practice swing. But, at the same time, if you watch the catcher, you will see he is still standing and is actually talking with the umpire. The batter steps into the box just as the catcher begins his squat. No delay.
David Emerling
Memphis, TN