The clock

[Guest Eastside Coach]

I'm looking through league records from the last few years and found this one. I always like to get the opinions of the guys who get paid to make the calls. 

 

In a number of tournaments and youth leagues the game is 7 innings or two hours. The field we often use for many league games has a scoreboard that is multi-purpose, used for football and baseball and as such has a game clock. We use it during baseball games putting up 2:00 on the clock and letting it count down, starting when the umpire gives the command to "play ball" before the first pitch. 

 

Problem: 

 

It's a 3 PM Saturday game. The umpires are running late; as there is no other game scheduled after this one. Both teams agree to wait for the crew. (League rule also says umpires more than 10 minutes late can, at the discretion of the site director, be dismissed from the game, not paid, and coaches will call the game — never something we want to do). Game begins at 3:25 and things are going well, crew is average if not better. 5 pm arrives. It's a 6-5 ball game in the 5th inning. Umpires insist the game is over as it has reached the scheduled two hour limit and begin heading off the field. Crowd, players, and coaches are fully expecting 20 more minutes of baseball. I believe there was a very brief conversation with umps and site director and the game was played to completion. 

 

Question: For you as an umpire, does a timed game begin on your command to play ball, or when it is scheduled? What circumstances do you take into account. Or, do you put these questions in the hands of the league, tournament, or site director.

[kylehutson]

Above my pay grade.

 

That being said, the rec league I'm most familiar with lays it out pretty clearly in the rules, time starts with the first pitch and a completed inning within the time limit means you start another inning. (e.g., 2 hours or 7 innings on the schedule and the last out of the 6th inning occurs at 1 hour, 59 minutes and 55 seconds, we're playing another inning).

[Richvee]

Any tourney I've done, clock starts after the plate meeting. Never heard of the clock starting before the game begins because is was the scheduled start time. 

[Tksjewelry]

Weekend games, if this happens, I'll assume they are coming from another game that ran long. That's not the teams fault and I'm not going to punish the later team. For us, game times average 1:50 (6 or 7 innings depending on age) and time starts when the pitcher takes the mound and throws the first warmup pitch. A few leagues say to start time when the plate meeting breaks but I never remember which leagues those are so I stick to the start of warm up. I do my best to start games on time or even early if I can but I never have heard of starting the clock before I've even pulled into the parking lot.

Now, if it were a tournament and the site director said there was a drop dead time limit and time starts on time, umpire there or not, then that's whose paying the bills and I'll do as I'm told but not before I give a call to the Big Chief and advise him of the situation.

[Magic]

I always start game time when we break the plate meeting. And I tell both Coaches what game time is.

Games Worked Too Damn Many

[Mudisfun]

I hit start on my stop watch as the first prepatory pitch is delivered for timed games.

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[pnewton]

Time limit games that I work the clock starts when the plate meeting ends

[Jocko]

Tourney ball pool play, the clock starts on the coin toss. Bracket play, it's the last thing I do before we break the plate meeting.

[Thunderheads]

It's either when the Plate Ump says "PLAY" .................or, .................... when you break from the pregame meeting.

 

Typically, the base ump will have a stop watch with a clock on it, and when we break from the meeting, ....the base ump will say, ...ok guys, ...I've got 3:58pm, call it a 4pm start, and show the coaches the stopwatch ....then, ...the time frame is up to the teams to get the game going.

[UmpJeff]

As soon as the coaches leave the pre-game meeting at the plate, the time begins.

[ricka56]

There was a scoreboard game countdown timer. When did the countdown begin ? If it started at 3:00, then it was started 25 minutes early and was at zero at 5:00 when the umpires ended the game. I never look at the game time until an hour has past. Maybe they didn't look at the erroneous scoreboard countdown until the 3/4th inning and didn't realize that it started 25 minutes early.

 

If the 2 hour countdown started at 3:25 and the umpires understood the 2 hour time limit, or the umpires were responsible for the game clock, then they'd have a hard time justifying ending the game 25 minutes early.

 

One summer leagues that I work starts the timer at first pitch. All the other leagues and tournaments around here start the clock when the plate meeting concludes. Start the clock, put the onus on the teams to hustle to get the game going. Whether its a school night or there are 7 games to be played that day, start the clock ASAP.

[ZebraStripes]

I'm looking through league records from the last few years and found this one. I always like to get the opinions of the guys who get paid to make the calls. 

 

In a number of tournaments and youth leagues the game is 7 innings or two hours. The field we often use for many league games has a scoreboard that is multi-purpose, used for football and baseball and as such has a game clock. We use it during baseball games putting up 2:00 on the clock and letting it count down, starting when the umpire gives the command to "play ball" before the first pitch. 

 

Problem: 

 

It's a 3 PM Saturday game. The umpires are running late; as there is no other game scheduled after this one. Both teams agree to wait for the crew. (League rule also says umpires more than 10 minutes late can, at the discretion of the site director, be dismissed from the game, not paid, and coaches will call the game — never something we want to do). Game begins at 3:25 and things are going well, crew is average if not better. 5 pm arrives. It's a 6-5 ball game in the 5th inning. Umpires insist the game is over as it has reached the scheduled two hour limit and begin heading off the field. Crowd, players, and coaches are fully expecting 20 more minutes of baseball. I believe there was a very brief conversation with umps and site director and the game was played to completion. 

 

Question: For you as an umpire, does a timed game begin on your command to play ball, or when it is scheduled? What circumstances do you take into account. Or, do you put these questions in the hands of the league, tournament, or site director.

The starting time varies.  For some of my games it has been at the completion of the plate meeting.  For others it is the completion of the first warm up pitch.  I believe I have only had one time where it was off of the first pitch to a batter. 

[ZebraStripes]

Any tourney I've done, clock starts after the plate meeting. Never heard of the clock starting before the game begins because is was the scheduled start time. 

Especially since as an umpire I have a goal of at least being there half an hour before the game if possible.  Work and traffic some times interferes with that, but that is the goal.

[kylehutson]

So do you (my fellow umpires) have to keep the time yourselves? Or does that fall to the scorebook or other tournament/league personnel?

[ZebraStripes]

Weekend games, if this happens, I'll assume they are coming from another game that ran long. That's not the teams fault and I'm not going to punish the later team. For us, game times average 1:50 (6 or 7 innings depending on age) and time starts when the pitcher takes the mound and throws the first warmup pitch. A few leagues say to start time when the plate meeting breaks but I never remember which leagues those are so I stick to the start of warm up. I do my best to start games on time or even early if I can but I never have heard of starting the clock before I've even pulled into the parking lot.

Now, if it were a tournament and the site director said there was a drop dead time limit and time starts on time, umpire there or not, then that's whose paying the bills and I'll do as I'm told but not before I give a call to the Big Chief and advise him of the situation.

You open yourself up to some serious delays if waiting for that first warm up pitch in all cases.  "Let's have a team meeting before we go out there to play this game!"

[ZebraStripes]

So do you (my fellow umpires) have to keep the time yourselves? Or does that fall to the scorebook or other tournament/league personnel?

I have a countdown timer on my watch and a kitchen timer i put on the fence (and hope this one doesn't get hit like the last one did, but that's why the one on my arm is the back up timer) leaving it up to a scorebook leaves you open to some dastardly acts of changing time to benefit their team.

[Jocko]

 

So do you (my fellow umpires) have to keep the time yourselves? Or does that fall to the scorebook or other tournament/league personnel?

I have a countdown timer on my watch and a kitchen timer i put on the fence (and hope this one doesn't get hit like the last one did, but that's why the one on my arm is the back up timer) leaving it up to a scorebook leaves you open to some dastardly acts of changing time to benefit their team.

 

Don't wear a watch on the field. Keep a stopwatch in your pocket.

[ZebraStripes]

 

 

So do you (my fellow umpires) have to keep the time yourselves? Or does that fall to the scorebook or other tournament/league personnel?

I have a countdown timer on my watch and a kitchen timer i put on the fence (and hope this one doesn't get hit like the last one did, but that's why the one on my arm is the back up timer) leaving it up to a scorebook leaves you open to some dastardly acts of changing time to benefit their team.

 

Don't wear a watch on the field. Keep a stopwatch in your pocket.

 

My GHSA crew chief at CDP last year did mention the not wearing a watch on the field.  I think the watch has been the only thing on my body that seemingly hasn't been hit by a ball at some point.  Your post reminded me of that part.

[Jocko]

 

 

 

So do you (my fellow umpires) have to keep the time yourselves? Or does that fall to the scorebook or other tournament/league personnel?

I have a countdown timer on my watch and a kitchen timer i put on the fence (and hope this one doesn't get hit like the last one did, but that's why the one on my arm is the back up timer) leaving it up to a scorebook leaves you open to some dastardly acts of changing time to benefit their team.

 

Don't wear a watch on the field. Keep a stopwatch in your pocket.

 

My GHSA crew chief at CDP last year did mention the not wearing a watch on the field.  I think the watch has been the only thing on my body that seemingly hasn't been hit by a ball at some point.  Your post reminded me of that part.

 

worn watches are taboo

[Rich Ives]

Tourney ball pool play, the clock starts on the coin toss. Bracket play, it's the last thing I do before we break the plate meeting.

 

 

That could be a significant amount of time before the game where I live.

[Rich Ives]

Absent a league/tournament rule:

 

OBR 4.02 The players of the home team shall take their defensive positions, the first batter of the visiting team shall take his position in the batter’s box, the umpire shall call “Play†and the game shall start.

 

FED 4-1 ART. 5 . . . The game begins when the umpire calls “Play†after all infielders, pitcher, catcher and batter are in position to start the game.

[ricka56]

 

Tourney ball pool play, the clock starts on the coin toss. Bracket play, it's the last thing I do before we break the plate meeting.

 

That could be a significant amount of time before the game where I live.

 

That'd be on the DHC. Are we playing baseball or singing kumbaya...tick tock

[MooseLoop]

Game starts with first pitch/"play ball".  Watch on wrist until after plate conference when I put it in my pocket.  Check occasionally to see if game is on pace to get all innings in.  Hate it when game ends early, i.e., before all innings are played.  

[Mudisfun]

I have a small digital watch that is attached to the back of my indicator since most games I do are solo and have a 2.5hr no new inning I have to know the start time. Keeping the watch face on the indicator keeps it unobtrusive and if I glance at it no one is the wiser... they just think I am checking the count or resetting my dials between innings.

[ZebraStripes]

Game starts with first pitch/"play ball".  Watch on wrist until after plate conference when I put it in my pocket.  Check occasionally to see if game is on pace to get all innings in.  Hate it when game ends early, i.e., before all innings are played.  

With some of my games this year, if we played to 6 innings, we might still be there.

[Tksjewelry]

So do you (my fellow umpires) have to keep the time yourselves? Or does that fall to the scorebook or other tournament/league personnel?

We keep time, especially on tournaments. Coaches and scorekeeper will fudge a minute to get another inning in if they're behind. No way I'm leaving that to them.