Official Game Time?

[Jaskegreen]

Hey all,

There has been some question in our league on a ruling from our Umpire-in-Chief regarding the official start of game time.

The MLB rule, 4.02, states the following:

The players of the home team shall take their defensive positions, the first batter of the visiting team shall take his position in the batter’s box, the umpire shall call “Play” and the game shall start.

It doesn't say it specifically, but I would interpret that to mean that the official start of game begins when the umpire says, "Play Ball!" Our UIC is telling us to begin the game at the first warm-up pitch thrown by the home team.

I sort of get what he is thinking since we have timed games. It allows both teams to have the same amount of time for warm-ups and actual game time providing no unfair advantage to either team. But, does it really even matter in the end?

What's your thought on this?

Cheers,
Jason

[danmcc]

Our travel ball teams have 2 hour time limits. The clock start is announced at the coaches meeting at home plate. Typically the time is the end of the meeting plus 1-2 minutes for the team to take the field and start warm ups. So first warm up pitch sounds about right.

[OhioTex]

In MLB I believe play ball is it.

Around my neck of the woods, time limited game leagues, (most common in fast pitch softball) 'start' varies by league, ump, and how tight the tourney director scheduled games..I have seen a tendency to start at coaches meeting, and even abandon the 'start time' in favor of at x time will call last batter. Some timed softball leagues take it to extreme and end mid half inning regardless of score.. The best timed league umps have a small clock they start and set in backstop fence so all k ow what it is..

[team mom]

When exactly does the iscore game clock start? Often I press play while the teams are still warming up in order to make adjustments to starting lineups. The ump will usually announce when his "official" time starts, usually shortly after the coin toss. I am usually a few minutes behind the official time when I score. Does iscore start its clock with the first pitch?

[plivengood]

The iScore game clock (elapsed time) starts when you first press "play." I have seen all of these scenarios, which at the time seem very arbitrary, and I have often argued that whatever X person's watch says should be irrelevant, because iScore has an elapsed time and we should go to 2:00 (or whatever the game time limit is) regardless of what any particular watch says. I mean, unless we're all synchronizing watches, there is bound to be disagreement unless you use elapsed time, right?

While this makes a ton of sense to me, the bottom line is, most umpires rule with an iron fist, and whatever they say goes. I generally try to buddy up to Blue before the game, let him know I am scoring on the iPad (which produces a variety of responses, from intrigue to disdain - mostly positive) and that I have an elapsed time clock on the device that runs from when he says "Play" and that if he wants the clock to start sooner for some reason, to let me know. I will then make a note of the ACTUAL time he says "Play" and the time I was told to start the clock before that, so that if there is an issue to be taken up with a tournament director, it is all documented. I haven't had to utilize this documentation for any kind of dispute resolution, but it seems to me this is the best approach.

[PetroGuy]

I've seen the smae issues in travel ball. Every ump is different. The most common is for the ump to state "we're on the clock" or something to that effect right after the plate meeting. Like team mom, sometimes I am up to date and can start on time, but many times I am still getting the last few entries into iScore and press Play! a few minutes late. I just try to note the time and make a mental adjustment during the game as needed. Our manager uses his phone with a countdown timer that he visibly starts while he is in front of the ump and other manager. Then he shows them and we go from there. We have had fewer issues with time since we started both of these methods.

[iscore@tragus.org]

On the subject of game time, those of us who have time-limited games need a way to pause the clock. Rain delays, for instance, do not count against the game time.

If we <Exit> out of the scoring screen does that stop the clock? That would not be good because sometimes I need to exit out during game play (e.g. -- to check a kid's pitch count from an earlier game).

[FTMSupport]

Game time does not pause in iScore. It is counted from the time you press the Play! button. It is really informational as it is unlikely any umpire is ever going to say "oh, your iScore says there is one minute left, my mistake." While we would love if that was the case, in the end, the only time that really matters is what the umpire says.

[iscore@tragus.org]

I agree, the ump isn't likely to care, but our coach relies on what I tell him for time remaining. In time-limited games managing the clock is sometimes a very important thing. Sometimes you want to slow the game down so that a new inning isn't started, other times you want to do the opposite.

[Jaskegreen]

So, when it comes down to it, the head umpire is king, and whatever he/she says goes.

As I've gotten older, I've learned to choose my battles wisely and would rather conserve my discussions with the umpire to calling strikes and balls more consistently.

Thanks for the discussion.

Cheers,
Jason