Hey, you can't say that.

[argodad]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

Was told by a board member this week - DURING a game - that the catcher cannot say the word swing as the pitch comes in.

When I told him I'd read all the local rules a few times and didn't see it in there - what section did I need to read again, he told me it was an ASA rule. When I assured him it was NOT an ASA rule, he told me it was "common knowledge ... and this team has had this called on them when they advanced to all-stars".

Um, ok ...

I did tell him that if he wanted that in the rulebook, he should add it to his local rules, and that I was not calling it that way.

So ... that said - how many of you allow/disallow this, and where does "chatter" cross your line? And does age or ruleset matter?

Some of the rec league Mommy-ball teams seem to want to eliminate what most of us consider normal ballfield chatter.

Only once have I asked a catcher to tone it down. This girl was having a loud one-way conversation with herself that included comments on the weather, uniforms, boys, Gatorade, ... and anything else that flowed through her subconscious mind. I don't know if it distracted the opposing batters, but it did distract me!