"You can't clock our pitchers"

[sluggers]

So, let me get this straight...

You are standing behind the umpire watching a bunch of 12YOA, saying, "I've got something in my pocket I'm playing with...but don't worry."

Please tell me you weren't wearing a trench coat?

 

[MNDad]

You know 60 when you hear it hit the glove. Especially if the catcher has a "barking" glove.

You can hear it in the air too.

 

[Ariel116]

We were at Atlanta Legacy 12U a few weeks ago and during a game break, I walked around to watch some other games. There was a grandpa that had a radar gun on the 2 pitchers so I stood behind him and watched. One team had a pitcher that was close to 6ft tall and he was clocking her 59-60mph. The other team’s pitcher was an average size 13yo, he was clocking her at 45mpg with a top reading of 48mph. He was sitting to the side so I have no idea how accurate those readings were but can tell you the one team had a heck of a time hitting off the slower pitcher.

 

[grcsftbll]

We were at Atlanta Legacy 12U a few weeks ago and during a game break, I walked around to watch some other games. There was a grandpa that had a radar gun on the 2 pitchers so I stood behind him and watched. One team had a pitcher that was close to 6ft tall and he was clocking her 59-60mph. The other team’s pitcher was an average size 13yo, he was clocking her at 45mpg with a top reading of 48mph. He was sitting to the side so I have no idea how accurate those readings were but can tell you the one team had a heck of a time hitting off the slower pitcher.

We almost got beaten recently by a REALLY low level team because we'd just played a team whose pitcher was close to 50, and the low level team's pitcher was probably not even breaking 40. Pop up, easy hit back to pitcher, strike while swinging out of their shoes. It was really pitiful. Thankfully they finally got their timing down at the end but it was bad.

 

[Mike Alwine]

We Were at the Under Armour tourney in Sanford last month, and one of the Vendors set up a contraption , on a tripod, behind home. It measured (he told me) pitch speed, and bat speed. If the Umpire was not in the way of the release, the catchers throw speed as well. Kinda a cool setup 5 inch LED numbers. Probably another grand that I do not want to spend.

 

[_MIA_]

Had something new happen this weekend. I have a pocket radar and I clock pitchers all the time at various tournaments. I paid a bunch of money for it, might as well use it. I've never had anyone complain. I'm not sneaky about it at all. often I'll have parents come over and ask what their pitcher is throwing. It's never been an issue. This one team in the tournament had a pitcher I kept hearing was in the 50s. Always skeptical, I decided to see (FYI, high of 47). When I went to clock her one of the moms came over and said they don't let people clock their pitchers. She wasn't polite about it and didn't make it sound like a request. She told my husband she was going to tell the tournament director, to which he replied to go for it. She never did, and one of the dads came over and apologized and said she's crazy and not to worry about it.

One of the umpires overheard us talking about it and he said there is no rule against clocking pitchers, unless it's during one of your games against the team, and you report the information to the dugout. I hadn't heard that before and have often told the girls "Hey, she's only in the low 40s, so you guys have this!" They used to be really intimidated if they thought a pitcher looked fast. So I did break that rule by mistake if the umpire was correct (and he did seem very knowledgeable, probably the best one we had all weekend).

Has anyone else run into a situation like this? I can't imagine caring if someone clocked my DD while she was pitching. They told DH that being clocked makes their pitchers nervous. I think that's probably a lie (my theory is they can intimidate teams with the rumors of their fast pitching, and the girl is really big, and they don't want it getting around that she's only high 40s? Just a guess) but if it is true, how on earth do they handle other pressures in the circle if they can't even handle someone clocking a few pitches? the whole thing was so weird.

Don't think it should be an issue whether you clock or not. That said, I don't see the point in telling your players how the fast the kid is throwing.

 

[grcsftbll]

Now the girls have enough confidence I don't have to tell them anything. In the early spring though, if a girl looked fast half the team froze. They'd think she was throwing 50+. To be able to tell them she wasn't as fast as she looked gave them confidence at the plate. These days they're all hitting faster pitching though so I don't really do that anymore. Hitting is so mental, whatever works to give them confidence up there.

 

[Ajaywill]

You can't... do... WHAT??

Oh my lord, seriously? Maybe parents shouldn't be allowed to tell the batter when they think a changeup is coming. Or not to throw down on a runner stealing second with a girl on third.

Okay, here's the truth. Parents/fans can do just about whatever the heck they want. If they want to clock the pitcher, they can do whatever they want. The only time I'd ever step in is if a coach leaves the dugout area to go consult with a parent about how a pitcher is doing. Coaches are supposed to stay in the dugout.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go dry my eyes from laughing so hard at this woman's ridiculousness.

Wow.

The rules say that coaches and team personnel need to be in the dugout and allows for certain time when they do not...(coaching a base, conference, etc.)
If a parent or fan is in the stands clocking a pitcher and relaying that information to the dugout, that person is acting as a coach.

Here is the kicker and I'm speaking only for myself.....

If you (parent or fan) are in the stands clocking pitchers and you are giving me no reason to notice you, I am not going to do anything about it. If you start complaining about the strike zone or such, I may address your actions. Of course, this could change if the other team complains, but probably not......

 

[NCASAUmp]

I think that's going down a very slippery slope.