umpire-catcher courtesies
 

Do any of y'all practice courtesies to batters or catchers who've just been nailed by a pitch/foul ball? I've sorta developed a habit of taking my time to brush the plate, as well as checking the game ball, reloading my ball bags while the hitter stumbles down towards 1st to give her a chance to catch her breath, and then take my time getting back behind the catcher for the next pitch. I do the same with catchers who get their bell rung on a foul ball.

do you ever address your catchers by name (it's not that hard to learn names of players you see often)?

I will always brush the plate, no matter how clean it is to give my catcher a chance to catch her breath. Earlier this year I had a catcher ask for time to go out to the pitcher when I had taken a foul ball.

I was walking out to the mound after the time I usually allow and she said to me ' Are you ready to go now?'. I was not aware that the time was for me, she and the pitcher had nothing to say, just a courtesy from the catcher to me.

Anytime a player gets hurt, I'll stall a little to let the player catch their breath, walk it off, take a few steps to stretch it out, etc. I'll take my time walking back to the plate, brush it off a little, check my indicator, adjust my hat, then ask the player if they're ready.

I don't use any stall tactics. I stand there and allow a player who shows any indication of being hurt or dazed in any fashion to collect themselves before restarting. If someone has a problem with me doing that, they can find another game to watch.

I see no reason to play games over a player's/coach's/umpire's well-being.

I don't play games either. (1) Hit batter: The actions of the batter will tell you if you need to delay the restart of the game. (2) Hit catcher: Again, the catcher's actions will give you a clue as to whether to call TO to give the player some time to "compose" herself. In either case there is no compelling reason to restart the game immediately. Everybody knows that a player has taken one and that it is entirely appropriate to stop the game if neccessary for the benefit of the player who has just been hit by the ball. It is really no different that anyother injured player.

MTD, Sr.

I see no reason to fake the delay, checking a player's well being is too important and besides, I prefer the player and coach to know I think so and allow them to be realistic, not rushed by me. Struck in the head, more time, watchng the player walk and looking the player in the eye to help my opinion about possible concussion.

Yes, a catcher was instructed by coach to ask for time (of course, he said "call") when I took a hard hit. That was appreciated, but in the very few cases I need it, I will call time for myself as well. Like the other day, needed ice on my hand to reduce swelling. No big deal, stop the timer, take care of it.

I always make sure the player is ready to continue... and then it always seems the plate is a little dirty right at that moment.

That's the way I like it too! A player get hurt by a pitch. Let her take the time she need to recover. No catcher likes it to get a steeling limping runner, not that that runner will be steeling... A catcher can slow herself down when she finds the ball and throws it back to F1. I will however not take any action to let her be quick. Mostly the are quick enough back, and F1 or batter take an extra amount of time... Them I will speed up!
The only friends I have, as PU, among the players are the catchers from both teams. And if they screw up, cross my border then they are in really big trouble... Most catchers are smart enough to back off when I warn them not to push it too far. Some are not, they will be catching very long anymore in my game. The coach will sub or replace them.

I may not always brush the plate when a catcher takes a foul ball or otherwise gets hit, but I will ask if they are OK. If we need to stop for a bit, we do. If I get a "Yeah, I'm fine" right away, I just tell them I will always ask just to make sure...kind of a "you and I are back her together with balls being thrown at us."

When a batter is hit, we kill the ball (duh), and most of the time, the batter will stumble/limp/hop down to first base, the first base coach will ask for time (which we already have) to let the player regain composure. I let them take as much time as they need, within reason, and I will usually confirm with the coach, in a youth game, that the player is ready to go.

I have found that the Men's FP game is a bit different...if the PU gets hit, the catcher will almost automatically ask for time and go talk to his pitcher. If the catcher gets hit, the PU will almost automatically call time and brush the plate. I think most of that comes from a baseball mentality, since most of the mens FP players have played some high level baseball in the past. I have also found that the catcher will almost always apologize if the PU gets hit, even if its a foul ball that the catcher had no chance of deflecting.

When a mens batter gets hit, if they don't want to charge the pitcher :), they almost always suck it up and get to first base to show how tough they are...they certainly don't want anyone to know if they're hurt! :rolleyes:

Which is what is behind the courtesies. I see no harm in them, but they are a courtesy intended to provide ego cover for a minor issue. I've seen plenty of female catchers (older ages) who have this same "tough it out" attitude.

These courtesies are not useful for actual injuries or with younger players.

I agree with Mike, Mark, Cecil and Tom. No need for any game playing or stalling tactics. Just wait until the player indicates she is ready to go on.

... and you are the one with a glove! :cool:

I saw a different version of this at the Maryland regional this past weekend. I had noticed during the game that the catcher from Maryland would tell the coach if a close pitch was outside or inside with hand signals. At one point, this catcher gave the "I don't know" sign to the coach. Almost immediately after that the umpire called time and brushed off the plate that appeared to be very clean. You could see the catcher nodding her head up and down. It was my assumption this was the umpire informing the catcher that he would not put up with that.

Rabbit ears are bad... what's this one, Rabbit eyes? :)

Why would it be innappropriate for the catcher to be relaying infromation to the coach on where the pitch was ending up? If the coach is calling pitches wouldn't you want to know where that pitch was missing??