Ball Rotation Procedure
 

If the outfield is damp do you follow the ball rotation procedure by the book or do you allow the pitcher to ask for a different ball even though the ball in play does not go out of play or become blocked?

What if the pitcher just "don't like the feel of that ball?"

I am referring to NFHS or ASA.

Why would you want the pitcher to throw a ball that was wet and they have no control over. Put the benches to work on drying the balls and give the pitcher another one. If the pitcher just doesn't like the ball, use the ball rotation procedure.

You actually have 2 new balls? Thats pretty rare!

If the ball gets wet you let them change the ball

Thats rule Common Sense 7.26. ;)

I'm with Ed, here. If the ball it wet, they can have whatever ball comes out of my bag.

Ask the bench to keep the ball dry or carry a towel and hang it where you cannot keep the kitchen timer ;).

Ed, glad to see you are still alive.

SRW keeps all the kitchen timers (except for the two I have).

I keep all the umpire towels.

Here in the land of drizzle, practically everu team has a towel supply. When their team is on defense, they are responsible for keeping a spare ball dry.

And...
... our ball bags are NOT towels.

As for the original post: if it's wet, get a dry one. And personally, if she's happier with the other ball I will let her have the other/another one. But if it gets fouled out of play we are not waiting around, and we're not playing switcheroo all day long.

That is what I normally do and will continue but I was at a game where mid way through a new ball was introduced and every time the umpire (Who I work with a lot but I was just a spectator at this game) brought it in the pitcher was asking for a different ball and he was obliging every time even to the point of waiting for foul balls to be thrown in. That game got me thinking about how I handle things and was wondering how everyone else did.

Around here it is not unusual to start a game with 4-5 new balls, and then several back-up game quality balls.

As to the OP, yes, they get the dry ball.

Boy, I'd really tick off that team. As previously stated, I reach in my bag and whatever comes out goes into the game. Only other consideration is that new balls go in until they have all been introduced into the game.

I love the look on a coach's face when they throw in a ball assuming it is going to the pitcher and it goes into the bag :D

Man, thats like 10 ball bags ;)

I actually tossed them away this spring when I cleaned out my gear and training materials. I'm sure I'll find one somewhere...

Need me to send you one?:D

What, you couldn't find a place to fence them? :eek: :rolleyes:

Thats not right SRB. Some umps here dont have the required fence timer. We coulda used those!

On the ball rotation thing.. I'm guessing it would not be appropriate to do the Luciano thing and give them two and tell em if they cant tell the difference, they are ejected.

Last saturday had a doubleheader FP-men, top-level, and it was a little humid the night before...
Started the game with 2 ballbags at my belt, so I had 4 spare ball's
with me. In home dug-out half a box new ball's were in plastic waiting to be used. After 3 innings a new box with new balls were taken out the mainbuilding of the ball-park.

In this 2:04h game I've used about a box, 12, new ball's and about 6 used balls (left over from game 1).
I've had many foulballs, over fence into tennispark, lots of wet balls and egg-batted balls...

I can't imagine that you only use 2-3 balls a game...

Tomorrow, saturday, I'll have a double header senior women. Again top-league. Shall not need a second ballbag, however will need more than 6 new balls...

On Tuesdays, I work a men's slow-pitch league that includes some of the top-tier travel teams, 3 HR limit. They play doubleheaders, so they don't bother retrieving their balls till the second game has concluded. Both teams will sometimes go through a whole box of balls (12) in the doubleheader. That's 24 balls laying outside the fence somewhere waiting to be picked up. There's an upper division to this league on Thursday nights (which I don't work) that has a 5 HR limit. I shudder to think how many balls are laying out there waiting for them at the end of the night.