Stepping off to start new inning

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marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
Pretending that the clock isn't part of the game in travel is ignoring what you are playing. Sure HS is 7 innings and college is as well - but that is for another season. I have a team to coach right now. Also I want to make sure the parents and players are getting a lot of softball for their $$$ which means regularly winning bracket games and going appropriately deep into the bracket for the level of team we have. In m mind there are reasonable ways to manage the clock without stupid levels of stalling or making up ridiculous delays. A time out or a pitcher swap is fine. Taking lots of pitches and your one allowed offensive conference when batting fine. Stepping on the plate and bunting if you need another inning to hit in - all fine. The obviously fake shoe tie or the stepping out every pitch or taking 2 minutes to walk from the dugout to the plate... not so much. And it is not so much I will say anything because it is legal by the rules - we'll just remember it happened for the next time we play you.

That said...

On pool days I don't do really anything apart from move the game along briskly - with the only exception being that on pool days we have one goal: Don't get the 8am game Sunday. I will do what needs to be done to make that happen. If you are playing us in the game that decides sleep-in versus getting to the field before the sun makes an appearance, that is a bracket game for us. We always play MUCH better with a first game after 9:30am - or at least it is a much more pleasant team to be around.

I wont do anything stupid on bracket day like the catcher swap or the untied shoe, but I am happy to swap pitchers or take a time out or take some pitches when batting especially on days when we could have a long, long day ahead.We won a six-game Sunday ASA qualifier with what was our #1 and #3(developing) pitcher one season after our #2 broke her arm on the Saturday sliding into third. That was 30 innings in 90+ degree heat that we had to manage - we made sure we didn't have to play any extra innings in ANY game if we could avoid it in any way.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
Lots of this. I've seen coaches tell their girls to tie their shoes when they weren't untied. :D

We have had a few teams down to their last out and have the runner get called out to cause an extra inning. In all those games we won, and by more than if they have just played out the inning they were in.

It's annoying but legal. And since it gives our young 10U girls more pitching and fielding practice (and more at bats) I'm generally ok with it.

Once a coach had a kid (his, interestingly enough) step out of the batter's box to tuck in her shirt. My DH is a sticker for looking neat, but it was just such an obvious ploy. I suspect he had her come out like that on purpose but who knows. It's funny, I can't think of a time we've played a team that relies heavily on tricks and lost. It seems like it's mostly weaker teams that pull this stuff regularly.
 

TMD

Feb 18, 2016
433
43
Have seen a few tournaments last summer that adopted a "finish the inning plus one more inning" approach to timed games. Knowing that you'll have one more full inning after the time runs out, as opposed to just finishing the current inning, seems to tamp down the clock management tactics a bit.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
Have seen a few tournaments last summer that adopted a "finish the inning plus one more inning" approach to timed games. Knowing that you'll have one more full inning after the time runs out, as opposed to just finishing the current inning, seems to tamp down the clock management tactics a bit.

All it means is we have to consider any time management a little earlier to make sure there is either 2 extra innings or just the 1. The really good thing with this setup is it does reduce the parent/spectator complaints about stalling a lot.
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
like the idea of start new plus one, unless game is out of hand, it will stop shenanigans I believe, as with at least two more to play, you dont know if you want more innings or less really as HC.
 

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