Dropping down a notch on your own

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

I tend to only call a strike when a strike is thrown, so only occasionally does a varsity game run less than two hours. I'm not out there to cheat 18 young hitters who work hard at this seven days a week.

I've had a 68 minute game (bases) and a 70 minute game (plate) this year. I didn't realize I was cheating people just because I had a 3-1 game that just so happened to be played quickly.

I've only had two game over 2 hours out of the 25 I've worked so far.

That said, I have little control over it. I do not allow extra warmup pitches and I expect people to move between innings. I don't allow a mini-conference after every pitch (after a bit, I'll tell batters to keep a foot in the box). I have denied time when a pitcher had started his delivery. But beyond that, the game dictates the pace.

I do call strikes, though, and I'm not afraid to call above the belt or the inside corner or the ball at the bottom of the knee. I had a partner recently take 2:20 for a game and it's obvious part of it was because he wouldn't know an outside corner if it bit him. Pitches catching white were not properly called strikes.