Travesty of the game call

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Jun 1, 2015
500
43
Umpires that do this royally p*ss me off. I'm an official - I KILL for the chance to be on the field making calls and working on my craft so when something happens, I can make sure I get the experience and learn how to make the right call. An official who blatantly ignores a call because he/she is too lazy to keep going should be reported to their superiors/assignor because it's doing a disservice to the teams playing. You officiate until the last out is recorded/game is over just like the players should PLAY until same. Ridiculous to consider otherwise.
 
Mar 1, 2013
396
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As for the term - "Travesty of the game". At least in the USA rulebook, it only appears in reference to running the bases in reverse order. There is no generic "travesty of the game" rule that allows the umpire to MSU. Honestly, the MSU guys are the biggest travesty in this regard considering others that come behind them need to deal with, "But the last umpire called it this way..." stuff.
 
Aug 27, 2019
640
93
Lakewood CA.
So let me see if I get this right. Your team had base runners and the coach thought the best way to win this game was abandon the opportunity, give the other team an additional opportunity to score more and then start from scratch to score 3 or more necessary runs. Do I have that right?

Well when you say it like that it sounds crazy.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
This is not acceptable. Totally MSU Rules (Making Stuff Up). Just plain laziness; not wanting to do his job for a few extra minutes. Call the out, play the next inning and suck it up. You don't get to make stuff up because you want to move on to the next game or go home or whatever.

They should be ashamed to call themselves an umpire. I am ashamed to be even remotely associated with this person.

Forget all the time-wasting and whatever or reasons or whatever.... runner steps off, you call the out. The end. Them the breaks.

I'd be over with the UIC and TD so quick it would make your head spin. It is so unacceptable that the words I am typing here don't even begin to show just how mad this makes me.

If a fellow umpire tried this as one of my partners, I would NEVER work with them again. Just unacceptabl

marriard, dont pull punches, tell us what you really think ;)
 
May 23, 2018
93
18
Playing USSSA this weekend, with 2 outs and our home team down 3 and the game timer about to go off within minutes, the base ump wouldn't let our baserunner at first step off for the 3rd out to start a new inning. Said it violated the travesty of the game rule.

Was he correct? This was 12U.
This is a tough one! You can ask 20 umps and get 20 different answers. Everyone bitches about a timeclock, but it gets the job done. As an ump, I try and take control of the game by making sure there aren't any huddles, that someone is warming up the pitcher. I get frustrated because I see things in the game that I'm powerless to control. For instance, the coach decides to make a pitching change with only a few moments left. You know it is to delay, but as an ump, I can't do anything about it. I tell coaches pre-game to have the catchers ready. If nobody warms her up, I just call, "balls in" and batter up. You do that once and you'll get their attention.

The toughest part with a time clock (drop dead, finish the batter) is when it is supposed to revert back to the last completed inning. If the visiting team had taken the lead, I've seen coaches make a pitching change with an inferior pitcher, just to extend the inning, knowing full well that if the inning isn't completed, it will revert to when the home team has a lead.

Instead of "a travesty of the game", have the runner steal second and keep going to third and home. See if that invites a third out throw. Or, have the batter swing at three pitches. Don't run to first on a drop third, and just head to the bench.
 
May 23, 2018
93
18
marriard, dont pull punches, tell us what you really think ;)
Agreed. For me to call something a travesty, it would have to be so severe and where there is no doubt. Whomever that ump was, you should have taken control of the game from the inception - eliminate the huddles, make sure someone is warming up the pitcher immediately. If they're not out there within the minute, then no warm-ups. You don't have to be a jerk about it, but if everyone on the field knows that you're mindful of the time, they'll adhere.

Most of the tourneys that I ump are time limit, but it's usually drop dead on the batter for pool play and drop dead, finish the inning, for elimination.
 
Jan 5, 2018
385
63
PNW
This is a tough one! You can ask 20 umps and get 20 different answers. Everyone bitches about a timeclock, but it gets the job done. As an ump, I try and take control of the game by making sure there aren't any huddles, that someone is warming up the pitcher. I get frustrated because I see things in the game that I'm powerless to control. For instance, the coach decides to make a pitching change with only a few moments left. You know it is to delay, but as an ump, I can't do anything about it. I tell coaches pre-game to have the catchers ready. If nobody warms her up, I just call, "balls in" and batter up. You do that once and you'll get their attention.

The toughest part with a time clock (drop dead, finish the batter) is when it is supposed to revert back to the last completed inning. If the visiting team had taken the lead, I've seen coaches make a pitching change with an inferior pitcher, just to extend the inning, knowing full well that if the inning isn't completed, it will revert to when the home team has a lead.

Instead of "a travesty of the game", have the runner steal second and keep going to third and home. See if that invites a third out throw. Or, have the batter swing at three pitches. Don't run to first on a drop third, and just head to the bench.
OT-slightly. But what we've experienced that takes the clock shenanigans out of the mix is finish the inning +1. At the older ages 14 and up it seems to work fairly well. We ended up playing mostly 7 inning games this past summer where this format was used and rarely were teams starting late for the next game. Those that did were some good games. 1-1 after 7 and go to ITB. Those games were probably going over time anyway.

The need for hard clock/game stoppage in the younger ages is understandable.
 
Aug 25, 2019
1,066
113
So let me see if I get this right. Your team had base runners and the coach thought the best way to win this game was abandon the opportunity, give the other team an additional opportunity to score more and then start from scratch to score 3 or more necessary runs. Do I have that right?
See Post #7
 
May 23, 2018
93
18
OT-slightly. But what we've experienced that takes the clock shenanigans out of the mix is finish the inning +1. At the older ages 14 and up it seems to work fairly well. We ended up playing mostly 7 inning games this past summer where this format was used and rarely were teams starting late for the next game. Those that did were some good games. 1-1 after 7 and go to ITB. Those games were probably going over time anyway.

The need for hard clock/game stoppage in the younger ages is understandable.
It's kind of funny, but I've seen both sides playing the clock. Almost comical. The visiting team just took the lead with 12 minutes left on the clock, coming back from a couple of runs down. Now the home team does not want to finish because it's drop-dead, finish the batter, where if the inning isn't completed, it reverts back unless the home team gains the lead without completing the inning. Let's see; a timeout is called where everyone goes to the mound. I walk slowly out there and tell the coach we're ready. That gobbles up a minute. Then comes the pitching change, with an inferior pitcher ( you don't want outs if you're the home team). Another minute. Then comes the equipment malfunction with the catcher, the fake boo-boo, and a subsequent catcher change. You've gone from 12 minutes to about 8 minutes. Visiting team now becomes aware that they have to get out on the field, so they have their girls now swinging wildly at anything. The home team realizes what's going on, and the coach has the inferior pitcher try and hit the batters to keep them on base. Now the home team is up with 5 minutes left. Coach has the batters step out and look for signals. Coach calls time out and talks to the batter (4 minutes left). The batter does not swing at anything until there are two strikes on her. That ultimately ends the game where the score reverts to the last completed inning.

I try to stay consistent. I try to move the game along at the beginning with plenty of time as to when there's little time left. That way, when a coach asks why we're rushing them, I'll tell them I want the same speed as the first few innings. If I'm not mindful of the clock at all times, it could come up and bite you in the rear.
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
this is why finish the inning + 1 would get rid of a lot of the shenanigans. just chop 10 or 15 minutes after your normal time limit for finish the inning, and schedules will generally work out.
 

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