Delay of game (ASA)

[Dakota]

There is a discussion over on a coach's board about a team's particularly blatent delay of game tactics near the end of a timed game.

ASA rule 5-4-E says,


A forfeited game shall be declared by the umpire in favor of the team not at fault in the following cases: ... If a team employs tactics noticeably designed to delay or to hasten the game.

So far as I am aware, this is the only overtly "clock management" rule in the ASA book - by that I mean a rule to specify team behavior when time becomes an issue.

It seems to me that "tactics noticeably designed" is a pretty low threshhold, and is an umpire's judgment call (not protestable, in other words). It would include, IMO, acts by the team/coach that if time were not an issue would otherwise be legal (e.g. defensive conferences, putting in substitutes, adjusting equipment, calling time to discuss an issue with the umpire, etc.).

How do you guys enforce this rule?

Have you ever enforced this rule (at least with a warning, if not an actual forfeit)?

What is your threshhold for "noticeably designed"?

[Steve M]

I have seen teams use probably every one of the delaying tactics - but only one at a time and I have not seen any string two of them together. I believe that if I saw two of them strung together or in rapid succession, I'd remind the coach of what appeared to be the delaying team of the rule and penalty.

[Skahtboi]

A couple of years ago, I had a 16U fastpitch team that was notorious for delay of game tactics at tournaments where the games were on the clock. In this game that I had them in, there were about 10-15 minutes left on the clock and they began doing everything imaginable, from taking their time getting into the batter's box, to wanting to take a time out to talk to every batter...etc. I called time, told the coach that in my opinion they were dileberately stalling, and under the rules I could call the game a forfeit. He tried hemming and hawing about having to coach the batters, so I told him to do so before they came out to the on deck circle, because anything else that I or my partner percieved to be an attempt to burn the clock would result in an immediate forfeit. The delays stopped. The team that was trying to delay still won though.

Scott

[Steve M]

As I think back - and take a quick look back through notes - the only problem delay that I've ever had to deal with was a batter not getting to the plate quickly in an early tournament game. I was uic'ing and also working the game - I forget why but must have had someone cancel on me or show up late. Anyway, I had been introduced to all the team coaches as the tournamet's uic, and now I'm doing the plate for this game. When the third batter of an inning took a really long time to get to the plate - I couldn't even see anyone moving in the dugout - I started calling strikes every 10 seconds. At this point, a parent/fan hollered at the dugout "Hey, he's calling strikes! Get up there now!" Wouldn't ya know, here comes the batter, now running." Since I was known as the uic, ALL coaches kept their batters moving quickly the entire tournament. And I didn't hear a single complaint.