Expert: Andrew Senger - 6/23/2011

Question
Recently, I noticed an opposing coach slowing down a game against us in order to limit how many total at-bats we got.  He followed rules, but visited his pitcher once every inning (two times in an inning and he has to be removed).  He changed catchers so that his last batter had to take extra time to put on equipment.  He had his batters step out of the box to take extra signs.  Called time out often and waited for the umpire to tell him to break it up.  I pleaded with the umpire to do something about it, but he claimed that there were no rules violations and did limit the coach's timeout durations during the game.  Is this just unsportsman-like, or is it legitimate?  Game went for only 3 innings in two-hour time limit.

Answer
Kevin,

In generalities, there is nothing illegal with most of his stalling tactics. There is a rule that allows a forfeit if a team "employs tactics palpably designed to delay or shorten the game" (OBR 4.15b). However, this rule is rarely enforced, and I wouldn't even allow it.

That said, there are some things that should have been done. I will mention each example you gave.

"Visited his pitcher once every inning." While this is legal, a good umpire will only give them a minute at most for each visit. If I notice this is being done as a stall tactic, the coach might get 30 seconds.

"changed catchers." Again, perfectly legal. However, I'm curious how the umpire handled the warm-up throws at this point. Rules only allow one minute between innings, and I would hold to that and start the game as soon as the new catcher came out, whether the pitcher was able to warm up or not.

"had batters step out." This is one the umpire could have prevented. Tell the kids to keep a foot in the box. I'll also hurry the players up when they look for signs: "Let's go, batter."

"called time out often and waited for the umpire to tell him to break it up." This is the biggest. What was he calling time out for? If there's not a reason (visit pitcher, talk to batter), then he's not getting time.

In short, the umpires could have sped the game up a bit. However, there's only so much that can be done. It's very unsportsmanlike, but very little is against the rules.