Umpiring question

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A question for any and all regarding a batter calling time prior to a pitch...I am the coach and our team was playing defense. Our pitcher received the ball and due to the tone of the game was ready to come back with another pitch...I gues you will have to take me at my word...we were not "quick-pitching".

The batter was standing in the box with her head down and the umpire put up both hands and yelled"no-pitch". (ASA) The hitter absolutely did not call for time, and he said that the pitcher had to wait until the batter was ready. The explanation was fairly logical if a pitcher was trying to quick-pitch...safety of the batter.

The safety of the players is obviously numero uno...but aren't hitters taught to raise their hand for time if they want a few seconds to get themselves ready? I have never heard of this before and would like some of the officials that post here regularly, as well as other coaches to weigh in.

 

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What is the age group?

 

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16U...great question, because the basis of my confusion is that at that level in travel abll, a hitter should know better.

 

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This one is mostly a judgement call. It is within the umpire's rights to suspend play if he feels that the pitcher is pitching before the batter is set. The judgement might vary from umpire-to-umpire about when to call "time" or "no pitch".

A typical pitch reaches the plate in about .40 seconds, and that is how much time the umpire has to process the play in front of him, make the judgement call, then apply the proper rule. If there is any doubt about the batter's readiness, quickly suspending play is a fair way to let both the offense and defense re-set without penalty to either side.

I rarely see this happen, and good game management can just about eliminate these kind of mix-ups. The umpire can make it a point to raise one hand toward the pitcher (suspending play) when the batter is not ready. He can also remind batters to stay in the batter's box and be ready to hit. The umpire can go a long way toward controlling the tempo around the plate, ensuring that both pitcher and batter are getting comfortable and ready.

 

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Thanks bretman...well-put. It certainly wasn't a situation to get too worked up about and had the pitch been made and been in the strike zone it would have been just one pitch out of 60-70. The head of umpires explained it to me pretty much the same way you did...A detail I was not aware of.