Great game mgt vs. "its the umps fault"

[justcallmeblue]

Long but fun. . .You have to like coaches who know what they are doing and put their players in the best position to win. . .VS. . . the coach who is not aware of the game situation and blames US when the games ends

sit: Rec leage 5th-6th graders. . .12 batters max/inn, 12th can walk but not by IBB. 2 hrs time limit with no pitch after 2:15 hrs. 4.5 innings for a complete game. Top of the 5th inning. .away team down by 3. I am behind the plate + BU.

Away coach asks how much time is left (I verbalize it to both coaches). . .I reply 15 minutes to 2 hrs, 30 to end of game. AWAY TEAM takes the lead by 3 and the away coach RUSHES his last three batters and calling off the time to each one, telling them to swing at everything. The 12th batter comes up and WALKS. . .end of inning. . .

HOME TEAM COACH comes running up to me that the last batter cant walk. . .I tell her to read the league rules and I went over this in Ground rules. . .she insists, wasting more time. . .call over my BU and both coaches for conference and I prove the home team coach wrong in the league rules. . .she objects stating she know that the last batter must KO or get a hit.. . .nowhere to be found in the rules.

Away team coach rushes his girls out to the field. . .no warmups and he is pushing his pitcher to rush. He keeps yelling time remaining after every pitch.

I look at my watch. . .If we dont finish in 6 minutes, the game reverts back to the last complete inning and we have an INCOMPLETE GAME.

Home team players are swinging away (not stepping out to slow the pitcher)with not a peep from the coach. . .3 outs in 6 pitches. Game over with 3 minutes left.

Home team coaches approach me and my partner complaining that I did not notify them about the time (which i did). . .that if they knew they would have changed pitchers (huh? did you want to delay the game?). . . that I rushed her girls to bat. . .all the excuses in the book blaming ME and my BU for THEIR MISMANGEMENT of the game.

It was obvoius she wanted to play out the 2:15 and simply mismanaged her 1/2 of the inning. But dont go blaming me.

[Skahtboi]

I am stunned that there is any rec league that plays a two hour time limit.

[3afan]

5th-6th graders = 12U basically ... 2 hour (+) time limit? yikes ....

[Dholloway1962]

Originally Posted by justcallmeblue

sit: Rec leage 5th-6th graders. . .12 batters max/inn, 12th can walk but not by IBB. 2 hrs time limit with no pitch after 2:15 hrs. 4.5 innings for a complete game.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE SHI*ING ME???? Who in the heck dreamed that up??? Why not an 1 hr 20 min or even 1 hr 30 min time limit with 6 runs max per half inning. Get all 7 innings in most of the time and a whole heck of a lot quicker and fun! Finish the inning if you have to, that way you don't have all that 2:15 revert to last full inning junk.

Don't even feel like addressing the coach stuff after reading those rules!

[IamMatt]

Originally Posted by justcallmeblue

HOME TEAM COACH comes running up to me that the last batter cant walk. . .I tell her to read the league rules and I went over this in Ground rules. . .she insists, wasting more time. . .call over my BU and both coaches for conference and I prove the home team coach wrong in the league rules. . .she objects stating she know that the last batter must KO or get a hit.. . .nowhere to be found in the rules.

This is tangential and not related to the ridiculous claim that you "lost the game for them," but I think the general approach I have seen on this board would tend towards a response like, "that's the ruling, coach, you can file a protest if you want, but let's play ball" rather than to spend that much time on a "rules clinic." Did you deal with the situation as you did because it was younger players and a rec league, or are there other factors that go into the process of deciding how much time to take on an issue like this? Thanks.

[wadeintothem]

Those are by far the worst rec league rules I've ever seen.

[kcg NC2Ablu]

Originally Posted by wadeintothem

Those are by far the worst rec league rules I've ever seen.

TOTALLY AGREE!!! I assign rec ball to one spot and I told them this : I will charge more than your baseball, I will give you better umpires than the last guy and We will not be on the field past 1 hr 45 min. .... I got all of those things... I charge 37 a game .... all the people are HS umpires or better and we have a 130 no new inning 145 drop dead time limit. So you should get ahold of your assignor and tell him to change those REDICULOUS rules. Finally to actually answer the original post: sounds like you did what you should have done. its always easier to blame us rather than themselves or the team.

[Skahtboi]

Originally Posted by kcg NC2Ablu

TOTALLY AGREE!!! I assign rec ball to one spot and I told them this : I will charge more than your baseball, I will give you better umpires than the last guy and We will not be on the field past 1 hr 45 min. .... I got all of those things... I charge 37 a game .... all the people are HS umpires or better and we have a 130 no new inning 145 drop dead time limit. So you should get ahold of your assignor and tell him to change those REDICULOUS rules. Finally to actually answer the original post: sounds like you did what you should have done. its always easier to blame us rather than themselves or the team.

Even that amazes me. Around here most rec league games are an :55 to 1:15. I know of none that exceed an 1:30 time limit.

[DeputyUICHousto]

Originally Posted by justcallmeblue

that if they knew they would have changed pitchers (huh? did you want to delay the game?). . .

Why would changing pitchers be a delay of the game? I realize this isn't what the op was about but I was just curious why this would be a delay of the game? Is it not within the rules to change pitchers...even with time about to expire?

[NDblue]

He didn't say "delay OF game" he said "delay the game". By that I'm assuming he meant taking more time off the clock that was already running short.

[justcallmeblue]

First, thank you all for your words. . . .I also agree that 2:15 is way too long for any age. . .my issue is that 1/2 these kids cant throw a 35-40 ft strike. I normally get in 6 innings at this level, but THOSE teams can field an F1 that can actually PITCH. Most of my games have been teams who have 5-6 balls per strike. . .either swinging or called.

In a farm game - 3rd 4th graders . . I ACTUALLY HAD 1 FULL INNING IN WHERE THERE WAS 20 BATTERS WALKED CONSECUTIVELY!!! both teams went thru 3 pitchers in the inning!!!

We have begged to have the rules altered that if a pitcher walks 4 consecutive batters the Coach comes in to complete the inning. . .we have been turned down. Are there that many better kids the same age in different parts of the country? If so, sign me up because many of my games are painful.

[wadeintothem]

Originally Posted by justcallmeblue

First, thank you all for your words. . . .I also agree that 2:15 is way too long for any age. . .my issue is that 1/2 these kids cant throw a 35-40 ft strike. I normally get in 6 innings at this level, but THOSE teams can field an F1 that can actually PITCH. Most of my games have been teams who have 5-6 balls per strike. . .either swinging or called.

In a farm game - 3rd 4th graders . . I ACTUALLY HAD 1 FULL INNING IN WHERE THERE WAS 20 BATTERS WALKED CONSECUTIVELY!!! both teams went thru 3 pitchers in the inning!!!

We have begged to have the rules altered that if a pitcher walks 4 consecutive batters the Coach comes in to complete the inning. . .we have been turned down. Are there that many better kids the same age in different parts of the country? If so, sign me up because many of my games are painful.

This year our rec league had a schedule where the week night 10U game went before the 14U game.. I had a choice of working the 10U game or waiting til just the 14U game. I decided to do it, no big deal.

Honestly, it was a horrible experience. 30-40 min innings walk fests. We had a 5 run up rule.. so the goal of this particular sport was to walk 5 runs in.. then the next inning that team had to walk in 10 runs (5 to catch up, then 5 more ahead). This is not softball, I'm not sure what the game I was working was called, but I was not umpiring softball.

The coaches would teach them to take pitches.. so the one pitch every other batter that was a strike.. would get took!!!! I was absolutely miserable. Sometimes (ok rarely) some thing cute would happen, and I would try to focus on that for a slightest bit of enjoyment..to no avail, I look back on it as a bad experience. I never want to work 10U rec again.

Mine was 80 long counted pray for it to end minutes. You just count the time, because the game means nothing. Its not softball. youre putting in your time you owe.. like prison. 2 hrs 15 mins of that, like you are doing, and I would flip a lid.

[Chess Ref]

Friend of mine assigns a little rec league. He has the "championship" game of 10 U and asks me to work it. So he assigns me and another blue to work it. I did the dish,I lost the coin toss....

Our experience was similar to Wade's, it was the 7th ring of umpiring hell. beyond the walk fest we actually had a controversy of the "local rules." If it wasn't so bizarre it would have been down right pathetic.

My friend dodged my calls for about 5 days. So I get ahold of him and he's like "Sorry I couldn't do those games anymore this year, it was making me crazy."

Been said before-just part of paying your dues.

[LMan]

What's the size of your zone in games like that? As big as the Great Outdoors, and they still can't get it in the neighborhood?

[JefferMC]

Our rec 10U rules:

1) "1:30 time limit, no new inning after 1:25" (I don't know why they say 1:30, because there's no drop dead, just no new inning after 1:25).
2) Pitcher may not pitch more than 3 innings per game, nor more than two consecutively.
3) 10 batters per inning limit.

4 teams, about 4 good or better pitchers in the league. So, at least one inning will almost always be a walk fest, normally scoring 8 runs.

Last night, I called one of the games. One team's best pitcher didn't show. The other decided not to pitch their best pitcher (probably the best in the league). I think they pitched four other girls. One threw 2 strikes in 6 batters and I think they surprised her as much as they did me. It took 1:25 minutes to play 3 innings.