When do you call "Time!"

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by NDblue

At this time in my umpiring career, I only do SP. Whenever play has stopped and the defense had control of the ball (doesn't have to be in the infield or near the pitchers rubber), I call "TIME" with my hands raised above my head. Am I wrong? Not according to all clinics and schools I've attended nor by the book. I'm going to have to reread that section in the book before doing my first FP game which will be in the next few weeks.

Well, you and I are opposites in the SP / FP thing. I only do FP.

I won't speak to your SP question except to say from what I have picked up on these boards, no, you are not wrong.

In FP, the ball should not be killed merely because play has stopped. Mike sometimes argues that it makes little sense to keep the ball live after the LBR is in effect and all runners have stopped on a base (see above in this thread for the most recent example). But, the FP rules do not require the umpire to kill the ball then, and he should not. See Cecil's thread called something like "The Advantages of Paying Attention" for one of the examples of an umpire getting himself into trouble by killing the ball too quickly in the FP game.

Unless there is a playing-action reason to kill the ball (foul, ball out of play, etc.) or unless someone requests TIME, I will not kill the ball in a FP game unless I need to tend to some away-from-the-game duties (e.g. answering a coach's question, brushing the plate, etc.). If some runner wants to give herself up by stepping off the base, who am I to stop her?