idiot coach story from tonight
 

just thought id share this gem with everyone.

NSA SP game with a no new inning timer, NSA rule is the new inning starts on the first pitch of the new inning (as opposed to the 3rd out in ASA).

times running out, home team, who is winning, comes to bat (obviously in the bottom of the inning) i announce there are 2 minutes left...

after the 3rd batter, who made the 2nd out of the inning, i check my watch, and it says theres 10s left. the next batter comes up to bat and after a few pitches makes an out. i check my watch, and it says time is up, so i announce thats ball game due to the time limit. the visiting teams coach starts going nuts... "we paid good money for this league, let us get our moneys worth!!!!" and "i dont understand how you can use the timer right down to the last second!!!"

i politely explain to him that the timer ran out at some point in time during the last batters AB, since it was obvious to me that the coach thought there was still time left on the game clock and wanted to keep playing.

now im off the field walking to the parking lot and the coach comes up to me. hes mad at me for allowing the last batter to complete their AB if the timer had expired. at this point in time i couldnt contain myself from laughing. i asked him if he thought it was just a tad contradictory if 2 minutes earlier he was upset bc he wanted to play as much as possible in order to "get his moneys worth", but now hes mad bc the game was allowed to be played longer than "regulation"?

he just stood there with this idiotic look on his face, you could tell his mind was trying to comprehend what i was saying but it just wasnt sinking in.

normally i dont indulge participants like this but when this idiot was trying to make me look bad but was actually giving himself enough rope to hang himself, who am i to say no.

Hey, ummm... Not to second guess you too much, but...

As much as it probably felt good personally for you to do that, professionally it is not wise to engage in this type of conversation with a coach. JMO.

I'm confused. If the timer is to prevent the start of a new inning, and the visiting batter entered the box with about 10 seconds left, hasn't the inning started? A "no new inning timer" is not the same as "drop dead". You let the visiting team finish their half-inning, then call Ball Game!

I agree. :)

It was the home team batting as time ran out.

This is why, despite the advice of some here, I ALWAYS announce when the time has expired. Yes, VERY rarely it expires during the action of the last batter, but that's rare. Usually, you are waiting for a pitch or the time expires during a play and you announce immediately after.

Either "Time has expired. Ballgame" or "Time has expired, we will finish the inning (or batter in FTB tourneys). I never run into this nonsense.

Another reason why, after 15 years, I did no SP this year. I can't tell you much more calm I've been. The actual children in FP are so much more of a pleasure to deal with.

I agree. No slow pitch for five or six years now. My summers are now much more pleasant.

Re-read the post, HOME team was at bat...
Home team was winning.
There was no reason to finish the inning.
(I'm guessing their rule includes "finish the batter"

ooops:
As Ray Benson would say.... I'm a dollar short and a day (well a few hours) late.
:eek:

got me,

league rule says the first pitch must be made.... i never bothered to learn the real NSA rule....