Decisions during a Game

Would you stall or keep playing.

  • Stall

    Votes: 3 20.0%
  • Play

    Votes: 12 80.0%

  • Total voters
    15
  • Poll closed .

SOSoftball

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I know there have been discussions in the past about stalling during timed games but wanted to give a specific scenario that happened at a 14u tournament this past weekend.

Visitors are up 1-0 in the first bracket game. Its the bottom of the sixth and there are two outs. Clock has right at two minutes left in the game. If you are the Visiting team do you "Stall (change out pitchers twice) or do you keep playing ball.

Interested to hear in the replies if you are a coach or a parent. Also curious to see if the answers are different between the two.


The outcome of the game ended up 2-1 with the Home team winning. They scored two runs in the bottom of the 7th.
 

travelball

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I would have my players do what they can to use up the time (take your time, don't rush), but I would not change pitchers for the purpose of using up the time. In my optionion, if you can't win out right then you don't deserve to win. Let the girls win the game.
 

BruisedShins

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Need more info. Where are they in the lineup? What have the next few hitters done in the game already? Anybody on base? With 2 minutes left, I would probably "unintentionally" walk the batter (and the next one if that's what it takes), and then go after the batter up when time expires.
 

ech92

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I hate stalling and it sucks that so many coaches do it! Have faith in your players and let the game play out naturally!
 

daboss

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I don't let a clock determine my game. However I am aware of the time wasted between innings and make the girls hustle in and back out onto the field and if behind we don't throw down to second to start play. If once we start and I see need to change a pitcher I will take the time regardless of the time restraint, even if we're behind. We don't huddle between innings. We want our girls preparing to bat and be ready to go back out once the 3rd out is called. If we need to talk to the kids we'll do it in the dugout. I guess my point is; time management is always practiced by teams that play for me. I want to practice having an organized dugout and everything functional.
 

Long Baller

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Not to totally change the subject, but along the same idea of timed game sportsmanship....

With time ticking down, is it any less sportsmanlike for a losing home team to have a base runner purposely jump off of base to get the third out called, and therefore starting a whole new inning? Opinions differ on the sportsmanship of stalling, yet I always hear people exclaim "Wow, that was great coaching!" when that base runner gets the third out called for leaving early, and therefore giving the home team another chance next inning.
 

Long Baller

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But to answer the OP, as a parent I want to stall, but as a coach I play, hahaha

Seriously though, I don't think there is anything wrong with trying to manage time through normal means, i.e.pitching around batters to go full count, make sure your hitters take a normal amount of time to get signs, etc...but untied shoes and the like is Bush League. I have confidence in my team, so play the game :p
 

tjsmize3

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Need more info. Where are they in the lineup? What have the next few hitters done in the game already? Anybody on base? With 2 minutes left, I would probably "unintentionally" walk the batter (and the next one if that's what it takes), and then go after the batter up when time expires.

That's a gutsy move to put the tying and then potential winning run on the bases with at least one of them in scoring position. I could not do that personally.

I know this has been touched on before, but there seems to be this sentiment on here that smart coaching somehow diminishes the girls' accomplishments. If I had as good of a pitcher or better on the bench ready to come into the game and throw, why would I not make that move? If my girls played hard enough to get up 1-0 in the bottom of the 6th and I can legally as a coach choose to have them face 1 more hitter (time expires) vs 4 or more hitters (next inning started), doesn't common sense dictate that I should choose 1. Sure I may get burned, but the odds say that will happen a lot less going after 1 hitter instead of 4. Now if I have my best pitcher out there, I call time out, walk out to the circle and talk to her to make sure we are on the same page as to how we are going to approach this hitter. Hopefully that accomplishes the same goal. At the end of the day I am not going to embarrass my girls by asking them to tie their shoes and fake injury (that's deliberately stalling which is NOT legal)... but talking to my pitcher or changing her out in this situation is both legal and the right thing to do.
 

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