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Originally Posted by AtlUmpSteve
That, and the tradition.
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It is a time waster! You are always waiting for the on-deck batter to travel to the other side, especially when the visiting team is at bat. Then you get the batter that forgot and is on the wrong side and you stop the game to allow her to cross over. Then a when a bunt or running slap fails and the batter moves from left to right box, you wait for the on-deck batter to change sides.
What I focus on is the location of the on-deck circles. These folks putting down the chalk place the circles way too close. I hae seen them inside 20'! In one of 4 games I am wiping out the on-deck circles and telling the coaches to take a bat and draw a new circle much further away. NFHS recommends at least 35' - even that can be close.
In many games I have seen a fouled ball rip through the cylinder of the wiped out circle. Too many on-deck batter do not pay enough attention, and had they been in the previous circle they possibly would have been hurt.
WMB