Obstruction question

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Manny A

Guilty as charged. I just view it as a game management issue. Not granting the Time tends to make the umpire seem arrogant and could lead to unnecessary friction. If my calls have already pissed off a few folks, why add fuel to the fire?

Besides, how much time are you really saving by not granting Time? How significant are you affecting the flow of the game? To me, it does nothing. Chances are, there's already going to be a slight delay as the umpires get back into position, the next batter comes to the plate, etc. I honestly don't see how granting Time makes a difference when play is essentially over.

In the case of the runner sliding into the base safely and the fielder holding the tag on her and neither one of them showing any urgency to proceed, I will call time and move on. I choose not to deal with the standoff.

I've not tried Hugo's suggestion of "Let's play ball"...I may give that a try and see how it works.

[HugoTafurst]

Originally Posted by Andy

(snip)

I've not tried Hugo's suggestion of "Let's play ball"...I may give that a try and see how it works.

Sometimes when the fielder holds the tag on a runner after I have already called her "SAFE", I'll wait a few beats, then say, "She's still safe"... again, message usually received.