warm up pitches
 

Tournament with 2 hour time limit played under Fed Rules. Late in game home team up by one run. Catcher for home team makes 3rd out. Home team takes field. No one comes out of home dugout to warm up pitcher, even though other players and coaches are available. Pitcher throws with F4. Catcher puts on gear then goes to water cooler and gets a drink, obviously more than 1 minute has elapsed. Catcher walks from dugout to position. (Real Bush League stuff). Umpire gives pitcher 4 warm up throws with catcher. Curious how others might have handled.

The next inning starts when the third out happened. If it's late, they're only playing one more inning anyway. I wouldn't sweat it.

Would the catcher have done the same in another inning after making the third out? If so, why should he hurry now?

As soon as F2 takes his position behind HP, I am calling (in a louder than normal voice): "Batter Up!"

MTD, Sr.

I do not expect teams to hurry any more than they did in previous innings just cause the time is late. But we don't get to this point, cause I keep things moving in earlier innings, so I'm just being consistent.

I hate time limits -- both as an umpire and as a coach. I have not once manipulated the limits this summer coaching. But I've said something to an umpire who was letting a team obviously try to stall out a win in the last inning. They failed -- we got the third out and won in the last inning.

Agree with not sweating it. When parents began to complain we used it as a teachable moment. Asked players if they wanted to be the team that didn't hustle out of the dugout. Also didn't blame F2 much, it was hot. Disappointed in coaches since they made no effort to help F1 to warm up and figured they told F2 to delay. Funny thing about those kind of tactics is that is what is remembered. Everyone remembers how they tried to delay instead of what they did to be up by one run.

Rules are there to be enforced not disregarded!

Time limits were known at the start and should be enforced at the end.:eek:

I encourage teams to have "somebody warm up the pitcher." If they refuse, I tell F2 to "throw it down" on the first warm-up pitch from the rubber, regardless of whether we are under a time limit.

If you haven't been enforcing them all game don't start in the last inning.

It cracks me up that when we're close to the limit the losing team expects us to move the game faster than we did the first X innings.

Sorry, I couldn't possibly care, coach. You didn't for the first 90 minutes, after all.

Rich, you took this question differently than I did, and seem focused on the fact that it's late in the game.

I would not allow them any pitches (OK, I confess ... my ACTUAL way of handling this is to tell the catcher to take it down as he's walking toward the catcher's box ... so I guess I give them 1 pitch)... but I would not allow them pitches if they did this in the bottom of the 1st either. They get their time between half innings, what they do with it is not my concern ... but they don't get that time and THEN get to also warm up.

Wish you called my games
 

I wish you called games in my area. My team makes it a goal to be on the field, warmed up and ready to go within 45 seconds of the third out. Some of our opponents huddle with their coach, take their time getting on the field and warm up all without being told to pick up the pace by the umpire. On the occasions that an umpire looks at me during this process I look at my watch and say "we are ready." It always seems the umpires who allow this to happen are also the ones who complain about how long the games last.

I also called same as you!