I've been around awhile but I never saw this: Every inning that her team was taking the field, the coach would go to the pitcher's circle and fix the dirt around the rubber and give her pitcher instructions. The pitcher would than throw her warm up pitches. When I asked the umpire, who was even older than I was, if this was legal, his reply was "I do not know" and than asked me why I had a problem with it. I said because it messes with the time limit and it should be considered a conference. His reply was that it was between innigs. If someone could give me their opinion, it would be great. It was a USSSA santioned tournament.
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- May 11, 2009
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I have done it for 6 years in ASA ball and have never been told I cannot. We are not holding up anything since we are waiting for the catcher to get out there and it gets my pitcher a decent starting platform to start the inning with. I walk straight from the third base coaches box to the mound and wait for my pitcher to get there. I clean the ball off with my hands and straighten up the dirt for her with my feet. I can typically do all of this before she gets there. I would not consider it a conference at all. It is in between innings. To my knowledge, there is no rule preventing me from giving my pitcher a pep talk on the mound between innings and I do it in between every inning. It also helps them relax a little bit as well.
In your opinion, if a stands out towards the outfield waiting for my outfielders to get done warming up in between innings and waiting for the "coming down" command and I talk to them is that a conference as well? I don't feel it is at all.
In your opinion, if a stands out towards the outfield waiting for my outfielders to get done warming up in between innings and waiting for the "coming down" command and I talk to them is that a conference as well? I don't feel it is at all.
The rules provide one minute between half-innings for the pitcher to complete five warm-up pitches. If the coach can get his instructions/field grooming done within that time period, then the pitcher has whatever portion of the minute remains to take her warm-up pitches.
If they get it all in, fine.
If the coach wants to use the one minute for something else, it may limit the number of warm-up pitches allowed, or possibly even eliminate them altogether. It's their minute, and their choice, and they can use it or waste it however they see fit.
Personally, I like to keep them moving along and not allow unecessary delays in the game. I'm not going to stand there with a stopwatch, but I'm not going to let them waste an inordinate amount of time either. I might be a little more lenient in a full seven inning, untimed game, but if it's a game with a time limit I'm going to enforce the one-minute rule more stringently.
If there is some significant problem with the field/pitching area that legitimately requires attention (it's causing a problem for the pitchers or creating a safety issue), then I'm going to allow a minute or two to get it corrected. But we aren't going to spend a lot of time worrying about otherwise normal wear and tear to the field.
One more...if the coach hangs around talking to the pitcher longer than the one minute, he is now delaying the game and subject to being charged one of his allowed charged conferences.
If they get it all in, fine.
If the coach wants to use the one minute for something else, it may limit the number of warm-up pitches allowed, or possibly even eliminate them altogether. It's their minute, and their choice, and they can use it or waste it however they see fit.
Personally, I like to keep them moving along and not allow unecessary delays in the game. I'm not going to stand there with a stopwatch, but I'm not going to let them waste an inordinate amount of time either. I might be a little more lenient in a full seven inning, untimed game, but if it's a game with a time limit I'm going to enforce the one-minute rule more stringently.
If there is some significant problem with the field/pitching area that legitimately requires attention (it's causing a problem for the pitchers or creating a safety issue), then I'm going to allow a minute or two to get it corrected. But we aren't going to spend a lot of time worrying about otherwise normal wear and tear to the field.
One more...if the coach hangs around talking to the pitcher longer than the one minute, he is now delaying the game and subject to being charged one of his allowed charged conferences.
- May 11, 2009
- 279
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Good stuff to know Bretman!!
I really don't think I am out there with my pitchers for more then 10 to 15 seconds. Like I said I go straight from the coaches box to the mound to fix holes and by the time I get that done my pitcher is usually there about the same time. I give them a stupid funny quick joke to break the tension and keep them relaxed and off I go.
I really don't think I am out there with my pitchers for more then 10 to 15 seconds. Like I said I go straight from the coaches box to the mound to fix holes and by the time I get that done my pitcher is usually there about the same time. I give them a stupid funny quick joke to break the tension and keep them relaxed and off I go.
I've never, ever seen this done. That being said--as an outfielder and the oldest on my team, I always fix the dirt and hand our pitcher the ball before we start the game.
Cannonball
Ex "Expert"
- Feb 25, 2009
- 4,882
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First, no such thing as "between innings." The next inning starts after the 3rd out of the home team. I have never read the 1 minute rule but did hear an umpire at our hs game call a team on this during this past week. He prohibited warm up tosses and said that they could have warm up or conference but not both. I don't think that is a good interpretation of the rule and rather, he wanted to make sure no advantage was gained by getting the talk and the minute. It might be possible to do both in a minute but I certainly could not. JMHO!
Okay.....Maybe we should call it "The Time While Teams Are Changing Sides When No Actual Pitches Can Legally Be Thrown". But that doesn't really have anything to do with the rule or how it should be enforced.
Actually, the printed rule says that, "At the beginning of each half-inning...no more than one minute may be used to deliver no more than five pitches". You will find this rule in the section of the rule book covering pitching regulations.
Under all rule codes.
All that I'm familiar with. You could probably be safe in saying "most" codes use this rule.
But there are so many associations and sanctions popping up out there that I'm never comfortable saying something applies to "all" of them. There's always that one oddball rule set who's rule doesn't follow the rest of the softball world. I remember a few years back, one of the "new" associations had a rule in their rule book that stated "The hands ARE part of the bat"!
But there are so many associations and sanctions popping up out there that I'm never comfortable saying something applies to "all" of them. There's always that one oddball rule set who's rule doesn't follow the rest of the softball world. I remember a few years back, one of the "new" associations had a rule in their rule book that stated "The hands ARE part of the bat"!
