What Constitutes a Trip to the Mound?
 

What has to happen in order for a trip to the mound to have occurred? Does he have to go to the pitching circle? Can he stop at the foul line and give instructions to his pitcher?

I trip can be charged even if the coach does not cross the foul line, if it delays/stops play from occurring. However, if the coach merely comes out of the dugout, approaches the foul line and says something like "slow down" or "finish on top", and heads back to the dugout, I let it go. On the same vein, if he gives instructions to the catcher and then sends the catcher out to relay the message, charge a trip.

If the coach comes out of the dugout to instruct their players and I have to call time. Chances are pretty good that I will be charging a conference to the coach.

-Josh

What sized field?
 

If we're talking about a little league field where there's 10 feet or so between the dugout opening and the foul line then I'll probably allow the manager or coach to step out without being charged a conference. However, if there's 20 feet between the dugout and the foul line and the manager/coach has to take a walk to get there I'm charging him with the conference. In my mind it's a difference between shouting instructions from withing a step or two of the dugout and coming out on the field.

If a coach takes a step or two out of the dugout to yell instructions there is a big difference than having a conference. I never call time for a coach to tell Timmy to move two steps to the right.

Of course, you are right waltjp. The lever of baseball and the size of the field does matter.

-Josh

Fritz, if a coach comes out of the dugout, and gets as far as the foul line he had better have asked for time or risk me quickly escorting him back to his dugout. A coach who simply pops out of the dugout to send a signal or yell some positioning instructions to his team is ok.

charged conference???
 

inning over...

3rd base coach (also HC) walks from coaching box across infield a picks up ball that other teams catcher tossed back to the pitching circle. HC waits for his pitcher to get to the circle, talks with him for 15-20 seconds and goes to his teams dugout on 1b side.

Visit???

No!

Key here is inning is over and as long as the coach does not delay the start of the next inning, no trip is charged. Oh, F1 better be throwing his warm-ups while the conversation is taking place.

Far as I'm concerned, he can do whatever he wants...but I'm sure going to be saying "balls in" to the catcher after a minute.

No, but now he gets maybe 2 warm up pitches!

RP - it does depend on the size of the field and whether I am stopping play to allow him to say something short to his players.

On the between inning conference, I actually had this come up last summer and ended up tossing the DHC. His assistant did the slow walk toward the mound from the 1st base box after the half inning ended. Pitcher comes out and starts tossing warm-ups while coach is standing there making comments. No problem, not slowing anything down. Catcher calls "Balls In/Coming Down", which they do as coach walks past the mound. Then he turns and walks back to the pitcher for a few more words. I tell the coach we are ready to play, he takes about another 10 seconds, so I walk out and tell him that is now a trip to the mound. Later in the inning, DHC comes out to talk to pitcher and I force the change as a 2nd trip. He goes nuts; his asst didn't mention my comment about the 1st trip. Got personal and got tossed.

Talked with our long-time supervisor who agreed; he would only charge a trip if the warm-ups were done and the coach was preventing us from starting play.

Fritz, I mostly agree with you on the "size" of the field making a difference. When I did Little League, a lot depended on the level of play. The more instructional in nature the level, the more leeway we allowed on this type of thing. Now, Majors and above, no one left the dugout without the benefit of a time out being called, period, end of story. We pretty much have that mindest in 90' play as well. If a coach can't get his point across by verbalizing it from the bench, then most likely its going to be a visit.

In your scenario about the 1b assistant coach hanging out at the mound between innings, I more than likely would have been tellin the DHC that he needed a new 1b coach, particularly since he ignored your order to leave the field. Assitants get NO leeway whatsoever.