Two outs, time's almost out...

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Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
What do you think of this tactic:

Time is down to a minute or two, with 2 outs. The hitting team is home, and they're losing. Coach has player get out on purpose (either a runner step off, or batter get out intentionally) to force another inning before time expires. Clever clock manipulation or cheap trick? Situation one: runners on 2 and 3. Situation two: no runners on. Is this an OK tactic to use in either situation?

ETA: this is 10U. But I'm interested in opinions for any age level.
 
Last edited:
Sep 22, 2015
29
3
My initial reaction was this is a douchebag move. Even if it works out and the home team wins, everyone outside your circle still thinks you're a jerk. Do you care? If not, you were probably that person keeping score in tee ball just a few years earlier or an 8U trophy hunter. These types tend to defend themselves by saying the objective of the game is to score more runs or points than the opposition. No need to teach class, respect, sportsmanship, etc. When it really matters, these coaches will not have taught their players the skills needed to be successful at the game they're playing or in life.

When it's your team, you're doing everything you can to win without breaking the rules. I get it.

When you're the other team, it's cheap. I don't think this is the way the game was intended to be played. It's 10U, lol, but trashy on any level.

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Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
I'm OK with it. This is different to me than stalling to run the clock, which I consider unsportsmanlike.

The way I see it, the game is 7 innings. The clock is a necessary evil imposed by tournament directors. This coach is keeping the game on its intended course. He's turning on the lights so the teams can finish what they set out to do. The clock is cheating both teams out of innings, and this coach is getting those innings back. No thanks to the clock, he's having to make a sacrifice to do it. So the clock cheated him out of an out.

Stalling, on the other hand, artificially prevents the game from reaching its intended course and cheats the other team (both teams really) out of what the game was supposed to be.

Stalling cheats the other team.

This tactic prevents the clock from cheating you.
 
Last edited:
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
My initial reaction was this is a douchebag move. Even if it works out and the home team wins, everyone outside your circle still thinks you're a jerk. Do you care? If not, you were probably that person keeping score in tee ball just a few years earlier or an 8U trophy hunter. These types tend to defend themselves by saying the objective of the game is to score more runs or points than the opposition. No need to teach class, respect, sportsmanship, etc. When it really matters, these coaches will not have taught their players the skills needed to be successful at the game they're playing or in life.

When it's your team, you're doing everything you can to win without breaking the rules. I get it.

When you're the other team, it's cheap. I don't think this is the way the game was intended to be played. It's 10U, lol, but trashy on any level.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

It's not our team. This team did it to us a few weeks ago. Didn't work, we still beat them. Then last night they played a friend's daughter's team, and did the same thing. Less than a minute left, had his batter get out on purpose somehow (I wasn't there, she told me about it). At the time the score was 3-1. To me it's like saying, "I don't really think you can get out of this, and winning is more important than even letting you try." This particular set of coaches is pretty low on the sportsmanship totem pole in general so it's not really a surprise. Anyway... friend's daughter's team put on 10 more runs in that inning and ended up getting them 13-3. I couldn't help but be a little extra happy about their win after the way it went down. To me, it feels like a cheap trick. But I'm still curious what others think particularly those who've been in the softball world for awhile. :D
 
Nov 26, 2010
4,784
113
Michigan
I hate timed games. However I do understand why games are timed. No these sorts of tactics don't bother me, the rules are the rules and a smart use of the rules to give your team a chance to win is fine by me.
 
Mar 13, 2010
960
0
Columbus, Ohio
I don't think this is the way the game was intended to be played.

No, it isn't. It's meant to be played for seven innings. The clock is the anomaly, not necessarily the way that teams deal with the clock.

Name one sport that uses a clock that doesn't have clock management strategies. You can spike the ball, ice the puck, spread the floor, and, in most cases, even request an actual time out! Is any of that cheating?

As long as we're forced to use a clock in a game that wasn't designed to use a clock we're going to have these issues. It's just hard for me to work up the kind of moral indignation that some seem to have over a team using a strategy that might help them win a softball game.
 

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