Visits to the Mound

[Vegas_Ump]

All rulebooks:

DM wants a visit to the mound.  You go back and take a drink, brush the plate......and the visit is still going.

So you start walking out to the mound.  "Time to play ball, coach!  Let's go!"  And the scrum continues.

What can you do?  And what rule do you use when you might want to justify what you decide to do?

In the LL Book, I don't see any guidance!

Mike

Las Vegas

[Senor Azul]

2018 NFHS rule 3-4 ART. 4 . . . An offensive charged conference is concluded when the coach or team representative initially starts to return to the coach’s box or dugout/bench area. For Articles 3 and 4, if a coach who has been restricted to the dugout/bench area is involved in a charged conference, that conference shall end when the players involved initially start to return to their positions on the field. The coach shall be given a reasonable amount of time for the charged conference as determined by the umpire-in-chief. (emphasis added)

From the 2018 Minor League Baseball Umpire Manual (section 5.63, p. 77) (the following text is marked as new for 2018):

As described in the Pace of Game Regulations, mound visits initiated by a manager or coach will be limited to 30 seconds in length, unless an exception set forth in the regulation applies. Mound visits by players shall be prompt and an umpire will break up any mound visit by a player resulting in an undue delay of the game.

Any player, manager or coach who fails to comply with an order from an umpire to do or refrain from doing anything that affects administering the rules and regulations governing play is subject to ejection in accordance with Official Baseball Rule 8.01 (Little League rule 9.01).

From the OBR General Instructions to Umpires:  Keep the game moving. A ball game is often helped by energetic and earnest work of the umpires.

[JonnyCat]

13 hours ago, Vegas_Ump said:

All rulebooks:

DM wants a visit to the mound.  You go back and take a drink, brush the plate......and the visit is still going.

So you start walking out to the mound.  "Time to play ball, coach!  Let's go!"  And the scrum continues.

What can you do?  And what rule do you use when you might want to justify what you decide to do?

In the LL Book, I don't see any guidance!

Mike

Las Vegas

Here's what I have been taught and I do it for all levels. Works for me, YMMV.

Manager comes out, ask for time, I grant it. While he's walking to the mound, I'll make the notation of a visit on my lineup card. Then I'll leisurely brush off the plate. At that point I'll turn around and look at the mound visit going on. Many times it will be breaking up and I have nothing to do. If it's not broken up, I'll walk towards the mound and stand on the 3rd base side of the mound about halfway up looking at the coach. Many times the meeting ends there. If not, I'll ask the coach politely if he's going to make a change. He'll say yes or no, make the change or he just concludes the visit. Using this technique, I've never had to hurry up a coach or tell him to get going. But I'm not averse to telling him it's time to break it up.

No matter how the visit ends, I always hustle back to the plate and put my mask back on. I like to beat the catcher back so no one is waiting on me.

I don't recommend storming the mound and immediately telling the manager, "Let's go." (Not saying you're doing that.) He may still be deciding on a change or trying to give his reliever more time to warm up.

Hope that helps.

 

 

 

[LRZ]

I have, on occasion, used humor to break up a conference and get the game moving: "Candlesticks make a nice gift." The kids don't know what I mean, but the coach usually does.

[ArchAngel72]

this is how I was taught

 

coach asks for time

time is granted

take a second note change or no change if its a conference dust off the plate.  

give it 15 - 30 seconds 

walk up the base path a little ways on the side of which the coach is looking   IE 3rd if hes looking towards 3rd  1st if its towards 1st

approach and usually by the time they see you coming it will be broken up by the coach.

 

I have used this, this year and not one time have I got to the mound.  Usually by the time I turn to face the conference the coach has looked at me and starts to break it up.