Fields of Screams: 2017 youth baseball/softball thread

Our rec league has been very, very anal about the time limit the past few seasons. Used to have one extra inning if tied and don't any more. If there is less than 5 minutes left don't even think about starting another inning even if you can get it going and it's within the rules to do so. Don't know if they got complaints from parents that games were taking too long or what. It used to be much more laid back. There have been double headers at fields recently, too, but even then there is still a good buffer between games.

My 10-year-old's game on Friday, the second of the two games on the field that day so no issues with another game anyway, was tied when the time limit hit and the previous inning ended. Might have actually been a couple minutes left. We were the visitors. Home team runs out and gets ready to go. Umpire was fine with it. One of our coaches, an assistant nonetheless, goes up to the umpire and says, I think that's time. Why in the world would you do that when it's freaking tied and the umpire is OK with another inning? Let the kids play and figure out a winner, especially when time limit opportunities like that are so scarce any more.

 

Man, if I was your head coach, I'd pull Helpful Assistant Guy aside for a very brief and very one sided conversation.

What is the one biggest problem of kids sports? They Don't Get To Play Enough Actual Games.

There'll be enough games cut short by actual restrictive time limits, enough times you'll be told, "pack up your gear and go home." The other team is out there, they want to play, the umpires are OK with another inning, you can put a sock in it, Mr. Helpful Assistant Guy. If you got someplace else it's that important for you to be, pack up and go there.

 

I'm still at a loss. I don't understand the reasoning. It's not a sportsmanship issue because it was tied. We weren't ahead and trying to get out of there with the win. Maybe he had some place to be? Just not sure why he took that one on himself. And the head coach, he's a little aloof. He probably didn't realize what happened until the handshake line.

I help coach my oldest's team and we seriously had heated discussions with umpires and other coaches last year on time limit issues at least three times. So maybe I take it more personally when there is a time you can get that extra inning in and maybe figure out a winner and there are no issues. Not to mention, like you said, let the kids play. That's what most of them on this level care about anyway. Give another chance at an at-bat. Another chance to make a play. I'm not close enough to the coaches to question them personally, but a few parents said something to each other afterwards. Just strange.

 

The red team coach had a few of his players try to bunt today ... they didn't put them down, or missed completely, but it's cool to know we spurred other teams into trying.

We on the other hand put down a great bunt, which led to a run in the decisive max inning, and the other teams are now defending us to bunt by bringing the third baseman way in, at which point I tell my batters to look at all the open space behind the third baseman and urge them to punch some hits there. It has turned into a fun little game of cat and mouse.

 

Aloof? He sounds barely conscious.

He's sitting there staring at his shoelaces or something, and the assistant coaches tell him, "game's over." WTF?

 

It's one of those situations where the team needs a coach and no one else stepped up and he means well. Super nice guy. Gives everyone a chance, even at positions they shouldn't be at if they want to give it a go (safety considered and all). But he doesn't know the game very well and does stuff like this. First game of the year he didn't even have anyone keeping score. The team is actually quite talented, which doesn't help. They are kind of lacking in fundamentals as a result because they don't practice a great deal of real situations and he just lets them wing it. Still, he knew the game was tied and you'd think he'd let them have a go. I have no idea if the assistant did this on his own or not.

 

Well, to a certain extent, unless you're willing to step up and take control yourself (as either head coach or "bench coach" running all the details), you gotta just say, "oh well, what the hell."

At that age group (10U) it's not too likely any players would step up and take charge; once you get up to 12U odds are at least some kid would say, "WTH is going on here?"

 

Pretty much. They've had their core of help in terms of assistants and stuff for a few years and I'm stretched pretty thin with three kids playing at different levels in the league so I don't help tons with this team and I try to let it go. Been in the league a long time, though, so I try to offer pointers where I can. We have a weird run rule where if you are tied or ahead you can't score more than 6 runs in an inning; if you are behind you can go up by 6. No other mercy rule so time and inning rules remain. In the game with no score keeper I went up to him and said, I do believe we just scored 6. Other team and umpire were clueless as well, another big help, but he called the team off the field no question. I almost wonder if that assistant sort of thought of that moment with the time limit and thought it was a sportsmanship thing. Who knows.

 

Hmmm. In my 12U softball league this year, we have:

6-run max in the first three innings
15-run mercy after three
10-run mercy after five
No inning begins after 1:30
Seven-inning regulation game
Tiebreaker runner at second base in extra innings if time permits.
If it's a tie at time limit, it's a tie.
We don't pick all-star teams so it's up to each coach whether to count the stats or not.

 

We lost 13-6 in the regular season finale. We're 8-2, both losses to this team with the speedy pitcher who actually tamped it down a bit.

My 3-year pitcher has been hampered all season with a bad back. She's fought through it but it really affects/effects/impacts her hitting ... she swings lefty and has yet to pull a ball to the right side. Tonight she walks in top-1 and takes second. On the next pitch she breaks for third. Their catcher is pretty good and throws one down and the third baseman puts a hard tag on, which apparently tweaked my pitcher's back. She held back tears best she could and asked me if she could ice her back before gingerly walking to the dugout. She tried to pitch in bottom-1 but the pain was too intense so she sat down down.

I put in my 4-foot-5 second baseman, who threw well enough. They still scored 5 for a 5-1 lead.

We rallied to 8-6 and held them scoreless for 2 innings -- 3-year pitcher came back in and threw well and we played nice defense including a fantastic double play (6-3/3-2) -- so I thought we'd come back to win.

But we had 2 unproductive at-bats then broke down in bottom-5 when they iced with 5 runs.

We play 2 games in the first day of the tournament Saturday, including one against this team.

 

Grounder to SS, throws out the batter and then 1B throws out runner trying to score from third?

 

Yep. It was a fantastic play all around.