Plate Conference

[MD Longhorn]

Starting tourney season, with teams from divergent leagues finally coming together to play real softball. Here's my plate:

1. Accept lineups, ensure P and C are marked and subs labelled appropriately.
2. "Coach, I see your P is #8 and C is #4, and you've listed 3 subs. Are you comfortable with this lineup?" (Repeat with other coach).
3. "Coach, are your girls properly equipped, and have they removed all jewelry?" (Get both to say yes independently)
4. "OK, we've got X time limit, Y run limit, mercy rule of 10,8,6 (or whatever) after 3, 4, and 5. I'd like to remind you (whatever the league wants reminded, and...) you've got 1 minute between half innings.
5. If 10U, mention any age-specific rules. If any league/tourney/ground rules, mention those as well as any oddities on the field (That gate over their doesn't close all the way, here's how we're handling that).
6. Do either of you have any questions?
7. Partner, do you have anything? (We've usually talked about this before - he may ask 1 or 2 of the above questions)
7. We're on the clock, send 'em out.

Any critiques?

Surely better than the one I heard recently...

"Coaches, let me start right here. This is your warning. If I hear any crap from anyone you're gone. If you have a question call time and ask the umpire that made the call, but keep it short. You're in charge of your parents, if I hear any crap from any of them, you're gone. Now, play ball."

[BretMan]

- Before any of this, introduce yourself and partner (maybe you already do that, but it's not on your list).

- I only use the "Are all your players legally and properly equipped" routine in FED games, where it is required (I take it this isn't FED because you mentioned 10U games).

- If not FED games, the part about "removing jewelry" may not even apply.

- I cringe when I'm the base umpire and I have to stand there and listen to the plate man give one of those tough guy "We aren't taking any crap today" speeches.

[LIUmp]

Dead ball areas? Is that in the ground rules/"oddities in the field"?


I start with introductions of the base umpire and myself. Then I ask for the lineups. I will state how many are in the lineup, whether the team is using the DP/Flex and where the DP is batting and how many subs are listed. I give it back to the coach for verification and tell them to hand it to me when they are ready to make it official. I then follow immediately with ground rules including dead ball areas, then go into the time limit, run rule, remind all one minute between half innings, (no infield warm up balls after first inning if tourney has this rule).

Any questions?

Ask for speaking captains. Designate one side head and one side tails, flip the coin. Shake hands everyone, and good luck.

Play ball.

All of this takes about a minute and a half.

On Edit: By the way, I think you're plate conference looks good, Mike.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Remember, you asked

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

Starting tourney season, with teams from divergent leagues finally coming together to play real softball. Here's my plate:

Speaking ASA

1. Accept lineups, ensure P and C are marked and subs labelled appropriately.
2. "Coach, I see your P is #8 and C is #4, and you've listed 3 subs. Are you comfortable with this lineup?" (Repeat with other coach).

Care more about DP/Flex and subs, while nice, will not draw much attention from me.

I hand the line-up card back to the coach for confirmation. That way there is no question has to what was "said" in case there is an issue later in the game.

3. "Coach, are your girls properly equipped, and have they removed all jewelry?" (Get both to say yes independently)

Coach's declaration irrelevant. I'll have jewelry removed if I deem it dangerous.

4. "OK, we've got X time limit, Y run limit, mercy rule of 10,8,6 (or whatever) after 3, 4, and 5. I'd like to remind you (whatever the league wants reminded, and...) you've got 1 minute between half innings.

May mention time limit, not mercy unless it is different from the book norm, otherwise, I'm not giving a clinic.

5. If 10U, mention any age-specific rules. If any league/tourney/ground rules, mention those as well as any oddities on the field (That gate over their doesn't close all the way, here's how we're handling that).
6. Do either of you have any questions?
7. Partner, do you have anything? (We've usually talked about this before - he may ask 1 or 2 of the above questions)
7. We're on the clock, send 'em out.

Well, unless local rules are different, the clock does not start until the first pitch. I would like it to start at the end of this meeting, but that change just didn't fly.

"Coaches, let me start right here. This is your warning. If I hear any crap from anyone you're gone. If you have a question call time and ask the umpire that made the call, but keep it short. You're in charge of your parents, if I hear any crap from any of them, you're gone. Now, play ball."

An umpire who makes this type of comment deserves whatever problems they get.

[NCASAUmp]

Part of me shakes my head. Another part of me smiles on the inside.

[ASA/NYSSOBLUE]

Here in NY high school ball, we are REQUIRED to read both a 'sportsmanship' and 'jewelry rule' card before every game (for ALL sports, btw). However....by this time of the softball season, especially if you have seen the same team(s) a couple of times, we are down to reminding them of both rules, plus the lineup check, plus whatever odd ground rules a field might have. For instance, Firday I was at a JV field which has a small grove of trees in fairly short LF, PLUS swings and a playground in deep CF. In both cases, a ball hit into either area is a GRD - although if if its hit in the AIR into the trees, we give them a HR. So I make sure the visitors are aware of all this. Pregame does not last more than a minute this time of year.

Even though you do ask the coaches if their team is properly equipped, you still have to do an equipment check.....however, again, if I have a team more than a couple times, I just do a cursory check of the bats, but I still check the helmets - especially the cages...usually find one or two a week that the cages need tightening...

I actually one team two days in a row this week- so I semi humorously asked the coach if they bought any new helmets or bats the last 24 hours.....

[JefferMC]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Well, unless local rules are different, the clock does not start until the first pitch. I would like it to start at the end of this meeting, but that change just didn't fly.

I don't know of anywhere around here where the clock doesn't start at the end of the plate conference. The PU leaves the plate conference, goes to his kitchen timer hanging on the backstop and mashes ( :-) ) the START button.

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by JefferMC

I don't know of anywhere around here where the clock doesn't start at the end of the plate conference. The PU leaves the plate conference, goes to his kitchen timer hanging on the backstop and mashes ( :-) ) the START button.

You actually ARE from around here, aren't ya?

In ASA, the clock starts when the first pitch is thrown, not when the plate conference ends.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

You actually ARE from around here, aren't ya?

In ASA, the clock starts when the first pitch is thrown, not when the plate conference ends.

This is my only exception to my "local rules are for fools" mantra.

[JefferMC]

Originally Posted by NCASAUmp

You actually ARE from around here, aren't ya?

Yep. Though that OBX dialect video had me scratching my head.

In ASA, the clock starts when the first pitch is thrown, not when the plate conference ends.

Someone really needs to tell some people south of "the border." What I've just outlined happened at the beginning of every ASA game I witnessed last summer including National Qualifiers, State Championships (which were in essence qualifiers) and "invitationals," in at least three different parks (but generally all overseen by the same TD and UIC).

Originally Posted by SRW

Ugh. Don't get me started on kitchen timers on the fence

I made sure I used the words "kitchen timer hanging on the backstop" just for you, SRW.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by JefferMC

...Someone really needs to tell some people south of "the border." What I've just outlined happened at the beginning of every ASA game I witnessed last summer including National Qualifiers, State Championships (which were in essence qualifiers) and "invitationals," in at least three different parks (but generally all overseen by the same TD and UIC)...

I'll bet few (or maybe even none) exactly followed the rest of the ASA timed game rule, either. These rules are frequently adjusted by TDs / leagues.

Personally, I find the "time of the first pitch" to be an unusable point in time if the PU is also the timekeeper. I use "batter up" as a reasonably close, but usable, point, unless end of the plate meeting is specified.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by JefferMC

Someone really needs to tell some people south of "the border." What I've just outlined happened at the beginning of every ASA game I witnessed last summer including National Qualifiers, State Championships (which were in essence qualifiers) and "invitationals," in at least three different parks (but generally all overseen by the same TD and UIC).

Don't have to tell them anything other than read the first sentence of ASA 5.10.

Originally Posted by marvin

One of the tourney rules that NSA Indiana uses is to stop the timer for every team time out in the last ten minutes of a game. There are almost no unnecessary time outs taken because you can't run time off the clock that way.

Sort of defeats the purpose of having a clock in the first place.

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by JefferMC

Someone really needs to tell some people south of "the border."

You mean that place just off I-95?

[SRW]

Originally Posted by JefferMC

I don't know of anywhere around here where the clock doesn't start at the end of the plate conference. The PU leaves the plate conference, goes to his kitchen timer hanging on the backstop and mashes ( :-) ) the START button.

Ugh. Don't get me started on kitchen timers on the fence...

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by SRW

Ugh. Don't get me started on kitchen timers on the fence...

What's the problem? When they go off you get hungry waiting on the cookies from the oven?