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Originally Posted by shagpal
if players are standing around confused and the ball is still live, as an umpire, I think it would be advisable to loudly announce, "the ball is still LIVE", without any stoppage of play.
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I'm with Dave. The ball is in play. If there is confusion, that is the coach's issue with the players.
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I believe the smartest player on the field would react to force a play, or yell to other players to make a play, or a coach would yell out for players to make a play.
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If they were that smart, there would be no point of your concern.
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like calling "time, or dead ball" to announce stoppage of play, simply alerting players and coaches as to the status of play neither instructs any player on how to make a play, or denies them the ability to choose their play.
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Sorry, still with Dave. And pretty sure this would apply to rule sets. Umpires are directed to make particular calls and signals as specific times. What you are suggesting is not one of them
AAMOF, I have seen players stop dead in their tracks when umpires have used local, very local mechanics by calling "good ball" or "play it" on a base hit at a tournament with teams from outside the area. Umpires did not know any better because they were more than happy sticking with whatever got them through the leagues.