Hi Jim,
I frequently use the "hand up" time out. I find it very necessary at all levels that I umpire (LL, High School, MSBL) Fact of the matter most baseball players (especially pitchers) don't know the rules. Nothing new. We umpires have known that for years. Why jeopardize the batter's well being just because the pitcher should know the "reasonably set" rule. I feel the hand up accomplishes other things besides protecting the batter. It notifies everyone time is out, and most importantly fosters game management. I use "hand up" all the time and I will continue to do so.
Dave,
I implore you to reconsider. The, "hand up," really isn't necessary. Perhaps you get the feeling that, if you don't put your hand up, the pitcher will think it is permission to fire away. In my experience, that hasn't been the case at all.
Here are ways the hand up gesture can hurt you:
1. A play occurs on the bases. Now you have to explain why time was out. Folks will be unhappy with you.
2. If you fail to put your hand up once, and the pitcher delivers, you have to call a quick pitch. Now you have to explain why a pitcher balked because you didn't put your hand up. Folks will be unhappy with you.
3. Participants and spectators never learn the rules. By creating a "patch" to fix rules ignorance, you do little to mend the hole. A pitcher has a responsibility to know when he is allowed to deliver. You don't even allow pitchers to learn this. Instead, you take over the duty yourself.
4. The, "hand up," promotes a delay in the game. Batters want you to call time out incessantly. By giving it to them you allow them as much time as they need to get set. If you just let them do it on their own, they have a tendency to be ready a bit quicker. By the end of a game, at the very least 55 batters have come to the plate. Think about it, that's a lot of time outs.
5. Live bases are killed by the, "hand up." On 90 foot diamonds, the baselines are to stay active under a live ball as often as possible. When you use the, "hand up," you kill play.
6. "To allow the batter to get set," is not listed under OBR Rule 5.10. Rule 5.10 lists all the situations where an umpire has legal means to kill play.
7. If you allow the batter a time out to get set, then you must allow the defense time outs to do various things like toss the ball back to the pitcher. It's only fair. If one side gets a time out and is allowed to kill play, then the other side must be allowed to kill play too.
8. The top clinicians in the world teach their umpires to keep the ball alive as often as possible. You are not following this advice sticking your hand up all the time.
Now, I can only think of one negative outcome from not using the, "hand up," gesture.
1. The pitcher may deliver a quick pitch.
Well, Dave, this is handled by the rules. There is a penalty for a quick pitch, and a harsh one at that. It is a ball, balk with runners, and, if repeated, the pitcher is ejected. Ejected, Dave. That's a pretty harsh penalty.
In my experience, in upper level baseball, you'll only ever see a pitcher quick pitch once. When he learns that he has balked and will be ejected next time, he will appreciate the awesome responsibility he has with a deadly missile in his hands.
In lower levels, like Little League, Junior League, Senior League, it has been my experience that if a pitcher is prone to quick pitching, your hand up isn't going to make a bit of difference. If he isn't paying attention to whether the batter is set or not, what makes you think he'll pay attention to your hand?
If you keep your hand down, stay alert, and deal as harshly with a quick pitcher as the rules require, you'll never have a problem.
But forget to stick your hand up once when they expect it, and you'll be in boat loads of trouble.
To me, the proper mechanic is clear. Use the hand up sparingly, if at all. Use it under abnormal circumstances. Keep the ball alive as much as possible, and require the pitchers in your games to know what their responsibility is under the rules.
Thank you for your thoughts.
Sincerely,
Jim Porter
|