Defensive conference in OBR? - Page 2

DG · #16 (**permalink**) Mon Jun 21, 2004, 08:13pm

Quote:

Originally posted by jumpmaster

Quote:

Originally posted by bigwes68
OBR refers to "trips to the mound" but does not mention defensive conferences, as in FED rules. I was wondering how this was handled.

Example: Cal Ripken game, played under modified OBR. Manager has already gone to the mound once in the inning. Fly ball to right field, 9-year-old kid drops it, then holds the ball as 50 people scream at him; he's terrified and has no idea what to do. Manager calls time and walks out to right field to chew out the kid (which I think is horrible in the first place). He says, "I'm not going to the pitcher." Since I'd already had two rounds with him in the game and he was losing pretty badly, I decided I'd let him go and not make him remove the pitcher, simply b/c I didn't want another argument and one more run by the other team would end the game.

So: Can a coach, under OBR, call time to go talk to a defensive player and not have it count as a visit to the mound? I know that under FED, it would count toward his "defensive conferences" and after the third one, he would have to remove the pitcher. But how is this applied to OBR?

So the question still remains. Is the coach required to remove the pitcher? I don't have my rule book, but I would think that he would. The OBR citation about "going to another player and then that player going to the pitcher would be a charged conference" is intended to prevent a circumvention of the conference rule.

My ruling...Pitcher must be removed and coach will probably end up being ejected for running his mouth.

I don't think you would remove the pitcher if the coach calls time to speak to another defensive player, unless that player then goes to speak to the pitcher. You don't see this very often, in fact, I don't remember the last time I saw this. I would have met the coach somewhere in the middle of the infield on his way to RF and asked him what the heck he was doing and as soon as I figured out his intentions advise him that it would not be a good idea to continue, if you get my drift....