USA Rule Change on Time Limits

So we have a lot of experience with this rule idea both as a team and as a tournament organizer....

Our experience is the frustration of teams stalling in a timed game that just finishes the innings is a whole lot less than the frustration of game times being screwed up for the whole tournament by the extra inning.

Stalling happens in SOME games and is for the most part a momentary annoyance. The complete extra inning happens in EVERY game... and just having one of those extra innings going long blows a schedule completely up. It gets ugly real quick.

There is no recovering either. It just gets worse as the tournament day gets longer. We have been as much as 3 hours behind WITHOUT weather because there was a couple of games that had 8+ runs and multiple pitching changes/timeouts early in the day.

Stalling happens in SOME games and is for the most part a momentary annoyance. The complete extra inning happens in EVERY game... and just having one of those extra innings going long blows a schedule completely up. It gets ugly real quick.

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There is nothing more frustrating than showing up on time for a game and being told there is still another game to be played before your game.

There is no recovering either. It just gets worse as the tournament day gets longer. We have been as much as 3 hours behind WITHOUT weather because there was a couple of games that had 8+ runs and multiple pitching changes/timeouts early in the day.

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That can really screw up a tournament schedule if you're using fields that do not have lights. Or if you're in eliminations and the games run late into the night with some teams ending up with early games the next day.

Sometimes TD's are their own worst enemy. I've been in tournaments where they do not schedule team change over times between games. The other team is trying to clear out of the dugout and you're trying to get in. The umps are at the plate calling for the coaches because the TD told them to hustle the teams up. UGH!!!!

Part of the problem with the "extra inning" is there is zero sense of urgency. Both teams are now off the clock so they have no reservation to call time outs, switch pitchers and other BS gamesmanship. If umpires would just enforce the existing rules dealing with time between innings, between pitches, etc. much of this would end. Based on a strict interpretation of the rules, except in rare circumstances a timeout should never be granted with the batter in the box.

riseball said:

Part of the problem with the "extra inning" is there is zero sense of urgency. Both teams are now off the clock so they have no reservation to call time outs, switch pitchers and other BS gamesmanship. If umpires would just enforce the existing rules dealing with time between innings, between pitches, etc. much of this would end. Based on a strict interpretation of the rules, except in rare circumstances a timeout should never be granted with the batter in the box.

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Your concern is a non-issue if the umpire does his/her job correctly and gets support from the rest of the coaches and TD when s/he runs into the coach who is going to try and play games

marriard said:

So we have a lot of experience with this rule idea both as a team and as a tournament organizer....

Our experience is the frustration of teams stalling in a timed game that just finishes the innings is a whole lot less than the frustration of game times being screwed up for the whole tournament by the extra inning.

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It is not an extra inning. They shaved 20 minutes off the time allowed and replaced it with an inning which will be played until a winner is determined

Stalling happens in SOME games and is for the most part a momentary annoyance. The complete extra inning happens in EVERY game... and just having one of those extra innings going long blows a schedule completely up. It gets ugly real quick.

There is no recovering either. It just gets worse as the tournament day gets longer. We have been as much as 3 hours behind WITHOUT weather because there was a couple of games that had 8+ runs and multiple pitching changes/timeouts early in the day.

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I agree, but just who causes these issues?

I guess Im at a loss as to what people want. I see tons of bitching about time limits, playing the clock etc with regard to timed games but I also see an equal amount of griping about tournaments running late and games not starting at their scheduled time. You cant have it both ways, either you remove the time limits and play the 7 innings and the games simply start when the previous games complete or you put a drop dead time limit on games to keep a schedule.

At least USA softball has taken a step to try and stop the clock game. There is no reason for coaches to play around killing time or trying to hurry up anymore. Regardless of what they do, when time expires there is still another inning of play. As for officials not enforcing time between pitches and innings, yes there are officials who are not very diligent in enforcing the rules but that is not something that occurs with much frequency in my particular area. We are pretty strict about keeping the games moving, we do not allow teams to huddle up on the field, the start of the game we give each pitcher 5 pitches, after that it is typically take 2 and send it down. If pitchers and catchers take their time getting out onto field they may get none. The girls are there to play softball, not high five, hip bump etc after every putout or waste time getting off and on the field. There was a thread on a local forum a few years back with parents complaining about the teams not being allowed to huddle and celebrate putouts, strikeouts etc on the field. When you show them the math about how much time can actually be wasted with just 5 seconds here and there it can easily add up to another inning of play.

MTR said:

It is not an extra inning. They shaved 20 minutes off the time allowed and replaced it with an inning which will be played until a winner is determined

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Yes I know that. But 20 minutes for that extra inning is sometimes not enough and there is the issue. As I said, we have gone through this and it causes way more issues than some team being briefly upset about someone stalling for a few minutes when they see it every week and likely do it themselves.

marriard said:

Yes I know that. But 20 minutes for that extra inning is sometimes not enough and there is the issue. As I said, we have gone through this and it causes way more issues than some team being briefly upset about someone stalling for a few minutes when they see it every week and likely do it themselves.

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So the question is, do you want untimed 7 inning games, or do you want a definitive tournament schedule with absolute drop dead time limits? You cannot have it both ways, you either have no clock and the games start when they start or if you want the games to start on time you have no choice but to play drop dead time limits.

Comp said:

I guess Im at a loss as to what people want. I see tons of bitching about time limits, playing the clock etc with regard to timed games but I also see an equal amount of griping about tournaments running late and games not starting at their scheduled time. You cant have it both ways, either you remove the time limits and play the 7 innings and the games simply start when the previous games complete or you put a drop dead time limit on games to keep a schedule.

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People are going to bitch no matter what. We KNOW people bitch more about games starting on time because it effects everyone - all the teams, and parents and umpires and tournament directors and schedulers and field staff and so on. Time wasting doesn't happen every game, doesn't effect everyone and is temporary. So one coach or some moron in the crowd has a whine for a minute - but then it is over. So what. It rarely, if ever, escalates and it is over.

At least USA softball has taken a step to try and stop the clock game. There is no reason for coaches to play around killing time or trying to hurry up anymore. Regardless of what they do, when time expires there is still another inning of play.

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Yes, by making it worse for everyone. Yay!!!! Typical USA Softball - kick the can down the road on issues that really need to be addressed to solve a minor issue by creating a much larger issue. Believe me - during the 'extra inning' teams certainly do not consider the clock or hurry up and that is not good.

MTR said:

Your concern is a non-issue if the umpire does his/her job correctly and gets support from the rest of the coaches and TD when s/he runs into the coach who is going to try and play games

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Unfortunately you describe the exception, not the norm.