Near the on deck circle...

[johnnyg08]

FED: Whole offensive lineup lines up along the dugout and takes practice swings while the pitcher is warming up.

Do you enforce 3-3-3 or let it go?  Why or why not?  

FED 3-3-3 as grounds for not allowing this:

ART. 3 . . . Players loosening up to bat shall remain in the area of their team's on-deck circle while the pitcher is warming up (1-2-3).

PENALTY: The umpire shall issue a team warning to the coach of the team involved. The next offender on that team shall be ejected.

[grayhawk]

"Just two guys with bats, please."

[scrounge]

Absolutely enforce it...one kid gets hit and turns out you had too many out there, your butt is in a sling . And rightfully so. Enforce safety rules as written.

[Tksjewelry]

I enforce it, even on my kiddie games.

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[udbrky]

I keep having to tell the leadoff hitters to get back to the on-deck circle. Haven't had the whole team out there though. Do they want to re-create the Ryan Braun-Jean Segura incident?

[umpstu]

6 hours ago, grayhawk said:

"Just two guys with bats, please."

At any level only two swinging between innings and one while live.

 

[johnnyg08]

Do you ever feel like there are only a few umpires in your group who enforces stuff like this?  OR Teams try it every game to see if it's allowed or not?  

[Tksjewelry]

Do you ever feel like there are only a few umpires in your group who enforces stuff like this?  OR Teams try it every game to see if it's allowed or not?  

I'm pretty sure we don't have enough umpires enforcing it. I doubt most even notice outside of HS.

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[Stk004]

Ok, what if the whole team is out of the dugout but they aren't swinging? I kid you not yesterday I had a coach have his entire team come out between innings and sit on their knees whIle the pitcher warmed up..... what would you do? 

[Tksjewelry]

Ok, what if the whole team is out of the dugout but they aren't swinging? I kid you not yesterday I had a coach have his entire team come out between innings and sit on their knees whIle the pitcher warmed up..... what would you do? 

Nope. Absolutely not. Tell the coach he gets the two on deck and everyone else has to be in the dugout. One errant miss by a warming up first baseman, a bad throw, or an on purpose bad throw and you're begging for trouble.

Did they at least have helmets on?

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[Stk004]

5 minutes ago, Tksjewelry said:

Nope. Absolutely not. Tell the coach he gets the two on deck and everyone else has to be in the dugout. One errant miss by a warming up first baseman, a bad throw, or an on purpose bad throw and you're begging for trouble.

Did they at least have helmets on?

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Thankfully yes. Thanks for your answer. 

[ricka56]

This is not done at the HS level...if a team tried it, I wouldn't allow it...but I've never seen it.

At the youth level it looks silly, but as long as no one is saying anything stupid, IGFAG.

[zm1283]

A lot of high school teams around here do it. They will try to have 6-8 players out there at the start of the game swinging bats if you let them. The rule is rarely enforced around here. 

[Aging_Arbiter]

You bet I enforce it.  I don't care if its Varsity, or 9-10 LL.  I'd really like to NOT give mother back a beaten and/or bloodied child that I had the opportunity to keep from happening.

[udbrky]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one and it's not just around here.

We don't need another one of these Christenson hits Molina in on deck circle

[ElkOil]

On 4/18/2016 at 11:04 PM, ricka56 said:

At the youth level it looks silly, but as long as no one is saying anything stupid, IGFAG.

http://www.acronymattic.com/International-Group-of-Funding-Agencies-for-Global-(IGFAG).html

 

[ricka56]

20 minutes ago, ElkOil said:

http://www.acronymattic.com/International-Group-of-Funding-Agencies-for-Global-(IGFAG).html

Typo ...

This is not done at the HS level...if a team tried it, I wouldn't allow it...but I've never seen it.

At the youth level it looks silly, but as long as no one is saying anything stupid,  IDGAF

[ElkOil]

Just now, ricka56 said:

Typo ...

This is not done at the HS level...if a team tried it, I wouldn't allow it...but I've never seen it.

At the youth level it looks silly, but as long as no one is saying anything stupid,  IDGAF

That I understand!

[scrounge]

Had to enforce it last night, against one of the better suburban teams in the league who should know better. At least 6 or 8 or them swinging in front of the dugout. Uh uh, fellas....pick two, any two, I don't care. But only two.

And I'd say it's even more important at the youth level, when you've got a greater likelihood of a teammate not paying as much attention or other rugrats running around. 2 max, and I'll make sure to peek if they're too close to each other.

Not my job? Maybe not. Sure, it's against the rules, and that's reason enough. But far more importantly than that, there WILL NOT be an accident, like the bat boy that got killed last year, on my watch if I have anything to do with it. This is an easy safety rule to enforce. Do so.

[RichMSN]

Almost every time we walk up, the visiting team is taking infield and the home team is all out of the dugout.  We put them in.

Frequently before the first inning, there are 3-4 outside swinging bats.  I put all but two in.  

Most of the time, the coach complies without any annoyance -- they know the rule -- they just try to get away with it and if they get a crew that doesn't allow it, they comply.

I'm not a stickler about a lot of things, but these are safety rules for the most part -- and I have the rulebook on my side.  To me, it sets a tone right off the bat -- one which I'm happy to set.

[MadMax]

In my experience and opinion, this is done by travel-ball / elite / academy teams as an "order in the ranks" and intimidation ploy. If it's emulated by High School teams, it's because they have kids or a coach on the team who also play for academy programs, and/or are trying to play the intimidation card.

The "order in the ranks" comes out of youth players enrolled in an elite academy program, where Dad and Mom have ponied up a steep tuition fee and want to (nay, expect to) see results. So, the coaching staff drills discipline into them, which is all well and good... admirable, even... regarding every nuance of the game. They preach that preparation is key. How you stand and have your glove ready while out in the field, all the way to how you tar or tape your bat. One of the most visible signifiers of a team prepared (at least to Mom & Dad) is "timing up the (new) pitcher". I have actually witnessed a Dad scurry out of the stands to head behind the dugout, beckon over an (assistant) coach, and notify him of the (obvious... we're all standing around watching it) pitching change, and wondering why his son and teammates are not out of the dugout timing this kid up.

Looking prepared and in attention to the game is vital to Dad & Mom (and thus, the paid coaches) because it's what sets you apart from the unwashed, rabble rec-league teams where kids are having booger wars or farting on each other or pleading for snacks and Powerade through the rusty chain-link fence during a pitching change. So, to whip the troops into shape, and keep them focused on the game (and Mom & Dad happy!), the coach will trot all his players out of the dugout during a dead-ball situation and give them something to do. If they're on defense, you might see the end-of-the-bench kids hustle out to throw long-toss with the F9, or initiate a makeshift bullpen session in Foul Ball Territory. If on offense, this is where you get all bumpteen players out and doing something that demonstrates you're paying attention to the new pitcher and you'll be prepared when it's your at-bat.

Round-about age 14/15, it transitions from attention-demonstration to intimidation. At age 14/15, these kids have already seen enough pitches to become good hitters. Besides, their coaches, in these elite programs, have them conditioned to take pitches anyway. Instead, it's an intimidation ploy, to get in the head of this 16-year old pitcher who's being brought in after his teammate just got shellaqued by 4 straight doubles. As soon as the new F1 takes the ball, all 12 of you are out there, in front of the dugout, in your fancy uniforms, mohawks (gotta look like Bryce Harper), eye black (even though it's an overcast game) and swinging $200 composite bats. Oh yeah, pitcher, we've got you figured out.

We did the same thing in soccer and hockey. Heck, we still do it. We used to have a defenseman who would camp out at the blue line during the skate-arounds and bounce pucks and then slap shots in epic fashion at the goalie (which was often me). Was he really in need of practicing that? Nope. Was I in need of having to brace for and try and stop a tumbling rock while warming up? Nope. This was just to show off to the other team what he could do.

[johnnyg08]

On 4/29/2016 at 3:08 PM, MadMax said:

In my experience and opinion, this is done by travel-ball / elite / academy teams as an "order in the ranks" and intimidation ploy. If it's emulated by High School teams, it's because they have kids or a coach on the team who also play for academy programs, and/or are trying to play the intimidation card.

The "order in the ranks" comes out of youth players enrolled in an elite academy program, where Dad and Mom have ponied up a steep tuition fee and want to (nay, expect to) see results. So, the coaching staff drills discipline into them, which is all well and good... admirable, even... regarding every nuance of the game. They preach that preparation is key. How you stand and have your glove ready while out in the field, all the way to how you tar or tape your bat. One of the most visible signifiers of a team prepared (at least to Mom & Dad) is "timing up the (new) pitcher". I have actually witnessed a Dad scurry out of the stands to head behind the dugout, beckon over an (assistant) coach, and notify him of the (obvious... we're all standing around watching it) pitching change, and wondering why his son and teammates are not out of the dugout timing this kid up.

Looking prepared and in attention to the game is vital to Dad & Mom (and thus, the paid coaches) because it's what sets you apart from the unwashed, rabble rec-league teams where kids are having booger wars or farting on each other or pleading for snacks and Powerade through the rusty chain-link fence during a pitching change. So, to whip the troops into shape, and keep them focused on the game (and Mom & Dad happy!), the coach will trot all his players out of the dugout during a dead-ball situation and give them something to do. If they're on defense, you might see the end-of-the-bench kids hustle out to throw long-toss with the F9, or initiate a makeshift bullpen session in Foul Ball Territory. If on offense, this is where you get all bumpteen players out and doing something that demonstrates you're paying attention to the new pitcher and you'll be prepared when it's your at-bat.

Round-about age 14/15, it transitions from attention-demonstration to intimidation. At age 14/15, these kids have already seen enough pitches to become good hitters. Besides, their coaches, in these elite programs, have them conditioned to take pitches anyway. Instead, it's an intimidation ploy, to get in the head of this 16-year old pitcher who's being brought in after his teammate just got shellaqued by 4 straight doubles. As soon as the new F1 takes the ball, all 12 of you are out there, in front of the dugout, in your fancy uniforms, mohawks (gotta look like Bryce Harper), eye black (even though it's an overcast game) and swinging $200 composite bats. Oh yeah, pitcher, we've got you figured out.

We did the same thing in soccer and hockey. Heck, we still do it. We used to have a defenseman who would camp out at the blue line during the skate-arounds and bounce pucks and then slap shots in epic fashion at the goalie (which was often me). Was he really in need of practicing that? Nope. Was I in need of having to brace for and try and stop a tumbling rock while warming up? Nope. This was just to show off to the other team what he could do.

I love this post! Thank you!