Calling time in case of injury

[Thomas Van den Eynde]

I would like your advise on the following situation:

Runners on 1st and 3rd. Catcher gets pitched ball on his thumb (again!) and fallus in paint to the ground. The balls rolls to a stop just in front of homeplate. Nobody picks up the ball. R3 scores. Still nobody of the defence gets to the ball (F1, F3 and F5 stand idle just looping at their catcher who is still lying on the ground). R1 advanced to 3rd base and threatens to score when finally F1 picks up the ball. UP calls time (I was U1).

The coach of the defending team starts screaming that we should have called time as soon as we saw that the catcher couldn't get up after being hurt. 

  What would you do?

1. Call time sooner? If yes, when?

2. Let play continue untill someone picks up the ball?

It happened in an amateur adult league (in Belgium).

[noumpere]

2.

 

Only use 1 if the player is in danger of further injury by the play.

[Kevin_K]

The standard I have been taught slides depending on the age of the players and the seriousness of the injury.

The older the player, the more serious the injury needs to be in order to stop play. I think all situations are HTBT, but any games with players who are 18+ the ball will remain live in almost all cases until play comes to its natural rest.

Fed offers some guidelines:

6-2-1-d: Time shall be called when an umpire or player is incapacitated, except that if injury occurs during a live ball, time shall not be called until no further advance or putout is possible.

1. If there is a medical emergency or if, in the umpire's judgment, further play could jeopardize the injured player's safety, "Time" shall be called.

So does NCAA:

6-5-d. Time shall be called by the umpire and play is suspended when:

An umpire or player is injured, except that if injury occurs during a live ball, time shall not be called until no further advance or putout is possible; If a player is injured and cannot proceed to the awarded base(s), a substitute runner may be used to complete the play.

[beerguy55]

8 hours ago, Thomas Van den Eynde said:

The coach of the defending team starts screaming that we should have called time as soon as we saw that the catcher couldn't get up after being hurt. 

Hurt thumb...or even knee...even a foot facing sideways...those are far from the heart...let the play continue.  

If he starts convulsing, vomiting or bleeding out, kill the play (almost) immediately....this may involve letting F3 score depending on how immediately he broke to the plate.

If he is rolling around on top of the plate screaming about his injury, and you see a risk of further injury to him, or to R3 due to congestion at the plate, you have a bit of a judgment call (and discretion) to stop the play.

Even on a line drive off the pitcher's head it's going to take a few seconds to process everything as it is and some initial play will occur - maybe the ball is caught, maybe not and the runners advance a base...maybe even another fielder is able to throw the batter out at first.   At the pro levels, they're letting the initial play finish.  At the amateur levels, human nature will prevail.  Kill the play as soon as you realize what's going on, and forgive the coaches and trainers and parents running onto the field while the play is still going.

[Velho]

As said above, the answer is level dependent. Younger you get the more liberal you'll be with calling time.

For reference, from the MiLB manual:

5.68 INJURED PLAYER
Rule 5.12(b)(3)
Although Official Baseball Rule 5.12(b)(3) stipulates that an umpire shall call "time" and the ball becomes dead when an accident (or injury) incapacitates a player, the proper interpretation of this rule is an injured player cannot be replaced until all continuous action has ceased and "time" is called by the umpire.

Regardless of the severity of an injury, time shall not be called unless the ball has been returned to the infield and no runners are in jeopardy of being put out.

On a base on balls, hit by pitch, homerun, or other base award, a substitute may take the place of the injured player and complete the award after the umpire calls "time" and the ball becomes dead.

[Aging_Arbiter]

In your case, a catcher got thumbed.  I'm going with #2.

If a Pitcher takes a line drive to the head or chest and collapses, I'm going with #1.

[umpstu]

2 hours ago, Aging_Arbiter said:

In your case, a catcher got thumbed.  I'm going with #2.

If a Pitcher takes a line drive to the head or chest and collapses, I'm going with #1.

Exactly

[noumpere]

15 hours ago, Aging_Arbiter said:

In your case, a catcher got thumbed.  I'm going with #2.

If a Pitcher takes a line drive to the head or chest and collapses, I'm going with #1.

Calling time (or not) in sit 2 won't change the eventual outcome for F1.  Let the trainer / coach start to come out (as long as they don't interfere) but keep the ball live.  Most of the time, the offense will only take one base anyway.

 

(YMMV, especially with younger kids -- the OP was for adults, and I'd apply it at HS and above)

[johnnyg08]

Getting "thumbed" is not a life threatening injury. 

Let it play out. 

I wouldn't put it past some to actually coach this. 

[Vegas_Ump]

In a youth game many years ago, a defensive player was hurt.  I called time to get the adults out to remedy the situation.  The OM went nuts crying that the play should have been allowed to continue (to his advantage).

My response:  "I'm a Dad too!"

Mike

Las Vegas