Time Rules?

[bobbyb]

We had a strange outing this weekend.

First elimation game...1 game elimiation. 3rd inning we did something i don't ever recall seeing. Every girl on the field made an error. Every One Of Them! We allowed 5 runs that inning and yes was probably... lucking that was all. However...we were battling with the bats.

We were coming back 5-3...then there coach called time and argued that there was a run that wasn't counted when they were at bat. They were talking to the official score keeper for probably 10 minutes. When i looked at the clock it said..22 minutes. Then they started leave the score keeper box and immediately went back to him...next time i look at clock it says 20 minutes...They continued for another 10 minutes...i look at clock it said 18 minutes.

I told the ump..then our head coach told them. They didn't change it. Then our next batter...came up and it was at 17 minutes before the first pitch. There was alot of time lost during that game during that episode.

My question is...what are the time rules (this was usssa) and who is the final authority for having it right or correcting it?

 

[quincy]

I do not think there are game time rules, these are local rules.

From my experience they are hard time rules, yes a Team can abuse this and run the time out.

 

[D.G. OutLaws 16u]

if a coach is questuining the ump for whatever reason, if it turns into a long discussion, then yes the ump should add minutes.
I'm confused..You stated that they had ;10 conversation with scorekeeper...twice(=:20)..but the clock went from :22 down to :18, thats :04 .....did the ump add minutes after each scorebook conversation and messed it up by :04? If this is the case then theres really nothing you can do as I'm guessing ump 'estimated' non game time to add back to game clock. If there was a 'drop dead' time clock going ump may have syncronized. We play a few tourneys that have 1:30 can't start new inning with a 1:45 drop dead revert to last inning score

 

[bobbyb]

I'm confused. You stated that they had ;10 conversation with scorekeeper...twice(=:20)..but the clock went from :22 down to :18, thats :04 ....did the ump add minutes after each scorebook conversation and messed it up by :04?

Yes...now I am not sure how much time was on the clock...when it all started. Our head coach said we lost 6 minutes of play time during the episode...but the episode took over 20 minutes.

The first time "I" seen the clock...it was “stopped” on the score board. So …on the scoreboard it was subtracting 2 minutes every so often.

From there i don't know what the process was or was suppose to be…that’s why I ask. There is nothing we want to do about it…I am wanting to understand the process that the ump or official scorekeeper would use.

Like...If I was an umpire (which i will probably be when my dd is done). Do i control the clock or the scorekeeper? Is there a standard way to add or subtract time in these situations…like for every 10 minutes of delay…subtract 2 minutes from the game? Once a ump calls stop play and the coach begans questioning him…is the clock suppose to stop?

If its a local thing like Quincy says...where the local tournament officials (scorekeeper) sets/controls the time rules. Is there a standard that they usually use?

I don't recall being in a game that had a 20+ minute interruption about the score book. If two books says one thing and one says the other...they usually go with the two and it all takes a couple minutes…that’s what is strange to me in this situation. It was long and drawn out…and the way time was handled seems strange. Maybe it was… just as you said. The ump or score keeper “estimated” some amount of time and went with that and there isn't a standard?

 

[D.G. OutLaws 16u]

By no means am I an umpire know it all. As coaches we need to know the time guidlines and rules the tourney umpire crew is adhearing to.
With your situation I've never heard of any 'standard' for time managment....in my experiences the ump adds whatever he/she warrants. The really good umps know when a coach is stalling, espescially during bracket games. They also know the snowball effect stalling can cause for the whole tournament. Its a tactic coaches use to stop momentum of a team charging back. Especially when the field clock is about to alarm. Sure we all pull pitchers and call time outs to shift momentum, but when the game is stopped due to a scorebook issue for ;20. Thats a great question I'd love to know the answer to.

 

[Comp]

Im sure different local associations handle the clock differently, but here locally the clock does not stop for normal game activities including injuries, rules questions or score book questions. Now, if the injury is such the player cannot be moved and needs treatment on the field, the clock will stop until play can resume. The same for rules questions or score book questions. If they can be handled in a reasonable amount of time the clock does not stop, however, if it becomes a protracted discussion or the UIC has to be summoned to rule on a situation the clock will stop.

As far as the score book goes, the home team is the official book unless there is a specific tournament score keeper. A question over a single run should not have taken 20 minutes to resolve.

 

[coachdan]

Here a little different situation with a time clock.

Bracket game time limit is 1hr 15 min finish the inning. Before each game the ump sets the clock for 1 hr and 12 mins no one ever know unless you look at clock before game starts. Just the blues way of shorting the day. Caught them doing it 2 time this weekend and made them set clock to 1hr 15min

 

[shockcoach]

When I protested a rules call last year, the PU (NSA) stopped the clock and went to settle the dispute. He started it back up afterward. I'm not sure how other alphabet soups work it.

 

[FPMark]

If the ump had to leave the field to go to "the score keeper box" the clock should have stopped when s/he left the field. Same as a protest, which it sounds like this was very simular to. However that's not a rule in the rule book and can be very hard to have reversed. Asking the ump is the only way to get it corrected unless you remind him as he is leaving to stop it.

Having said that, what is the score keepers box? Did the tournament have it's own score book it was keeping? or were they talking to whoever was running the score board? As comp said, the official score book is kept by the home team. 30 seconds max to ask the book keeper what the score is. And the teams do that whenever the score board is thought to be wrong.

 

[bobbyb]

Yes...the tournament had its own score book.

The field ump told me...he told the score keeper about the time. Head coach told the head ump and he would just say "play ball coach". After the game I tried to ask the ump about the process but he only walked away saying "the games over coach". He was a fairly young guy...and seemed to just want to get out of there ... although nobody approached him in a unsportsmanlike like manner.

Since there seems to be no standard...We probably need to clarify this at each tournament to see who rules on the time issue and what the process is at each. I wish they would time pool games and play a minimum 6 or 7 innings in bracket play....that would solve the issue. In fact i wish they would guarantee 3 games and no pool play.

Thanks for info.