If Softball HAS to Have Time Limits…

[Orange Socks]

2) After the 3rd out of an inning, players take way too much time getting out of the dugout and into their defensive positions.

DD 2 is not quite the athlete as DD1 so I had to watch JV games the past 2 years. JV games are timed 1 hr 15 or something close to that. It's never the same. I actually clocked the amount of time between innings. The HS coach is telling every def position where to go. How in the heck do you not have a def line up hanging on the fence? Absolutely no sense of urgency. Meanwhile umps are taking their sweet time chatting each other up. The next batter never seems never ready. JV is the time to get in as many reps as possible. 2-3 inning games are pretty common. Forget getting more than 1 AB a game unless you are the 1st couple of batters in lineup.

I calculated 24 minutes wasted between innings in the 2 games I timed.

Of course I'm the dad in the stands yelling Let's play some Ball!!! BTW, I kinda like knowing exactly when the games will end and what time I will be home to start fixin' dinner.

 

[_MIA_]

If my kid’s team played well and lost so be it. If they played crappy and lost then play better. What the other team wants to do with clock is their problem.

Must be because I don’t coach but like I have said before DD is supposed to care whether her team wins or loses..I don’t have to.

 

[Rolling Hard]

The HS coach is telling every def position where to go. How in the heck do you not have a def line up hanging on the fence?

Plate meeting is over, and coach says, "we are in the field." And then starts assigning defensive positions. Get better Coach.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Two timeclock killers:
1) Poorly used wristbands for pitch calling. Nothing worse than watching two grown men or women (but usually men) sitting side by side on their matching buckets both looking down and pointing to a sheet of paper discussing what pitch to throw next.
Solution: Maybe have umps warn coaches for slow pitch calling. It would be subjective. Maybe a 5 count to get the next pitch in. Think of the basketball ref counting the time it takes the ball to cross midcourt. If coach fails to get pitch called in due time, a ball is called.

2) After the 3rd out of an inning, players take way too much time getting out of the dugout and into their defensive positions. And what can make matter worse if all the players have to wait for the last batter so they can gather and do a little defensive cheer before they trot out to the spots. OR bad coaching/time management that results in the pitcher not getting any warm-ups between innings because the catcher was the last batter. Be better coaches.
Solution: The ump carries a stopwatch and after the 3rd out of an inning is recorded, he hollers 1 minute (or maybe 90 seconds). Teams/pitchers have to throw a pitch before time has expired. If the 1st pitch isn't thrown before 90 seconds has expired, the batter walks.

These two simple solutions would make those 1:30 games become 6 or even 7 innings on a regular basis.

From USSSA ... (most codes are identical or similar)

RULE 6. PITCHING
Sec 1

K. Once the ball has been returned to the pitcher to prepare for the next pitch or the Umpire says “play”, the pitcher has 20 seconds to release the next pitch.
PENALTY: Dead ball; a ball on the batter

L. At the beginning of an inning or when a pitcher relieves another pitcher, one minute may be used to deliver not more than five practice pitches (or throws) to the catcher, or some other teammate. For excessive warm-up pitches (or throws), a pitcher shall be penalized by awarding a ball to the batter for each pitch in excess of five. EXCEPTION: This does not apply if the umpire delays the start of play due to substitution, conference, injuries, or other umpire responsibilities. A pitcher returning to pitch in the same half-inning shall not be allowed warm-up pitches. (Per Rule 4.3: "A new inning begins as soon as the third out is recorded in the previous inning.")

I would not be opposed to taking a page out of the NCAA umpires' mechanics and having the base umpire run a stopwatch to consistently enforce these rules.

(I've heard NCAA does not want umpires using things like this though: https://www.ump-attire.com/Products/FB-2540/RefSmart-Universal-Game-Day-Umpire-Referee-Timer . They want the visual of an umpire looking at a stopwatch to reinforce the times.)

 

[The Man In Blue]

@Orange Socks and @Rolling Hard splitting my vote for Post of the Week.

It has been my experience as a parent and an umpire that JV (or "B games" in middle school) is treated as the whim of a scourge of an afterthought. That is sad. While those of us here have the privilege of being around softball A LOT, many girls' first experiences will be on that secondary team. Instead of using that as a learning and training opportunity, most places treat it as scraps. This wasn't always like this.

 

[Rolling Hard]

From USSSA ... (most codes are identical or similar)

RULE 6. PITCHING
Sec 1

K. Once the ball has been returned to the pitcher to prepare for the next pitch or the Umpire says “play”, the pitcher has 20 seconds to release the next pitch.
PENALTY: Dead ball; a ball on the batter

L. At the beginning of an inning or when a pitcher relieves another pitcher, one minute may be used to deliver not more than five practice pitches (or throws) to the catcher, or some other teammate. For excessive warm-up pitches (or throws), a pitcher shall be penalized by awarding a ball to the batter for each pitch in excess of five. EXCEPTION: This does not apply if the umpire delays the start of play due to substitution, conference, injuries, or other umpire responsibilities. A pitcher returning to pitch in the same half-inning shall not be allowed warm-up pitches. (Per Rule 4.3: "A new inning begins as soon as the third out is recorded in the previous inning.")

I would not be opposed to taking a page out of the NCAA umpires' mechanics and having the base umpire run a stopwatch to consistently enforce these rules.

(I've heard NCAA does not want umpires using things like this though: https://www.ump-attire.com/Products/FB-2540/RefSmart-Universal-Game-Day-Umpire-Referee-Timer . They want the visual of an umpire looking at a stopwatch to reinforce the times.)

Thank you. I would love to see the one-minute rule discussed at the pregame plate meeting and enforced. 20 seconds is too long in between pitches. If a pitcher throws one pitch every 19 seconds that would be like watching grass grow.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Thank you. I would love to see the one-minute rule discussed at the pregame plate meeting and enforced. 20 seconds is too long in between pitches. If a pitcher throws one pitch every 19 seconds that would be like watching grass grow.

TMIB's Devil's Advocate Moment ...

When I do enforce it from the start of the game, it turns into this:

"Come on Blue! Let the girls play! Nobody is here to watch you! Oh yeah, make it about the Ump Show!"

I do agree with you @Rolling Hard . If enough of us did it consistently, it would become the norm (as it should be) and not a problem.

Because our human sense of time is fluid, I offer this friendly challenge to help illustrate the point ... try it and report back to us. Pick one random game to use a stopwatch and record your findings. See how long it typically is throughout the whole game. The 20 seconds start as soon as the pitcher receives the ball (not when she finally gets ready). The 60-second clock starts as soon as the third out is made.

 

[flash277]

DD 2 is not quite the athlete as DD1 so I had to watch JV games the past 2 years. JV games are timed 1 hr 15 or something close to that. It's never the same. I actually clocked the amount of time between innings. The HS coach is telling every def position where to go. How in the heck do you not have a def line up hanging on the fence? Absolutely no sense of urgency. Meanwhile umps are taking their sweet time chatting each other up. The next batter never seems never ready. JV is the time to get in as many reps as possible. 2-3 inning games are pretty common. Forget getting more than 1 AB a game unless you are the 1st couple of batters in lineup.

I calculated 24 minutes wasted between innings in the 2 games I timed.

Of course I'm the dad in the stands yelling Let's play some Ball!!! BTW, I kinda like knowing exactly when the games will end and what time I will be home to start fixin' dinner.

our JV games are untimed and middle school games are 2 hour finish the inning limit.

 

[PJR202]

DD 2 is not quite the athlete as DD1 so I had to watch JV games the past 2 years. JV games are timed 1 hr 15 or something close to that. It's never the same. I actually clocked the amount of time between innings. The HS coach is telling every def position where to go. How in the heck do you not have a def line up hanging on the fence? Absolutely no sense of urgency. Meanwhile umps are taking their sweet time chatting each other up. The next batter never seems never ready. JV is the time to get in as many reps as possible. 2-3 inning games are pretty common. Forget getting more than 1 AB a game unless you are the 1st couple of batters in lineup.

I calculated 24 minutes wasted between innings in the 2 games I timed.

Of course I'm the dad in the stands yelling Let's play some Ball!!! BTW, I kinda like knowing exactly when the games will end and what time I will be home to start fixin' dinner.

Our MS JV games were usually 3-5 innings. Switch out at 3 outs or 3 runs scored. The HS JV games were played straight-up but the atmosphere was just never serious. At one point there was a 4 year old girl going to fetch the bats. I have a junior, and an incoming freshman. The freshman has seen enough of the JV atmosphere that she's decided to work her tail off this off-season and pray she doesn't get stuck on JV full time. That would also be awesome for me because we could go home early.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

How about in college showcases where the scores don't matter? My daughter's coach suggested a max of 5 runs an inning, barring a home run that knocks in extra runs. This way it gives the other team a chance to hit, too. Sometimes a college coach is there to see a girl from the other team, but she never gets to hit because her pitcher can't get outs.