Pre-Game Meeting: Warm-up pitches

[3afan]

Originally Posted by bkbjones

I am hard and fast on between innings/warm up pitches. They have one minute. I am not sitting there with a watch in my hands, but I know how long a minute is. I also know what dawdling is. I'm usually not a ******* when it is with younger groups, but the older they are - or in HS varsity - they best be busting their butts to get out there. Once this year I had a HS team that took well over a minute to get out on the field, and pitcher was last one out. She was *shocked* when I announced "Play Ball." the coach of course had the ultimate argument: "Nobody else has called that on us all year." Of course he could have been right...but he would be the first one to have been right.

Anyway, bounce outta the dugout and you can have five. Dink around for 45 seconds trying to find gloves or a "practice ball" for the right fielder, and ya might get one pitch.

Why am I so hard and fast? If you have them dinking around while you are over chatting up a coach or a cute mom and taking two minutes between each half inning, that's well over 7 minutes you have wasted. If you're in a tournament with 1:20 time limits, that's an inning. With crappy weather like much of the country has experienced so far this year, innings are precious.

If you're in school ball with no time limits, that's 7 minutes earlier your butt is off the field and closing in on the hot tub.

You don't have to be a prick about it, and you don't have to set artificial limits. Just urge them to get a move on by whatever legal means necessary.

very well said ......