Where does it say that there has to be an injury or a shoe falling off to get "time". I have played, watched, and umpired a lot of ball. I have NEVER seen an ump refuse time for any reason or even no reason at all when the action on the field has ended. This goes for offense or defense. Player slide into base...calls time to get up safely...time granted. Batter doesn't like how long pitcher is taking while he is in box...calls time...time granted. SS wants to chat with pitcher (maybe about his plans for the evening)...calls time...time granted.
Can you imagine the reaction at the major (or any knowledgeable) league level if the ump didn't grant time because "he didn't have to" and no other given explanation? That would be the last game that chap would ump. Perhaps that is why some of the umps on this thread are still at the hs level?
Take this example which is more to the point of the original question. I was watching a 11-12 year old game. Men on 1st and second. SS had ball after thrown in from outfield. NO ONE WAS TRYING TO ADVANCE but the two runners were faking making an attempt to advance to try to get the SS to throw the ball to the base (so the other runner might advance). SS is between third and mound holding ball. He calls time. UMP DOESNT GRANT IT DESPITE NO ONE TRYING TO ADVANCE!!!!!!! Defence's manager yells "Time, Ump". Ump doesn't grant it. Coach tells SS to hold onto ball until ump calls time. Ump doesn't call time, holds onto ball watching the runners who are jumping off the base trying to entice a throw. SS watches, Ump watches, etc etc. Why didn't he throw it back to mound? Probably because he felt he had better control over the runners' antics than his 11 year pitcher would. He simply wanted to runners to settle down before throwing it back to pitcher. Maybe he even worried about the pitcher catching the ball. SO WHAT? Runners weren't advancing.
So what do you do, umps? Force the SS to throw the ball to pitcher ( IN YOUR OPINION) the play hasn't stopped? Force the runners to go back to their bases while (IN YOUR OPINION) the play is continuing? Allow this to go on ad infinitum? The only reason this is continuing is because the ump made a bad judgement about granting timeout and now his ego won't allow him to change his mind.
So what happened? The coach becomes apoplexic and asks (loudly) how long he is going to allow this farce to continue. Ump calls time and throws the coach out of the game. You umps here agree with this? If so, I have to question your judgement and your baseball experience. You use the excuse that you are trying to speed up the game. How was that accomplished?
Yes, the players don't have the ability to call time out without asking for it and the ump granting it. That is how it should be of course. The problem is that the umps here seem to think that the rule is to grant them some kind of royal power and like some cops, the power has gone to their heads. If the folks who wrote the rules of baseball thought they had to worry about the umps having common sense, there jobs would be much harder and the rulebooks much thicker. They assumed umpires would exercise judgement and they were correct because most of the time they do.
It is hard for me to believe the answers some of the umps here are giving. USE YOUR HEADS!
PS.. I have to agree with the coach who originally asked the question. So long as his infielder was not calling time out from the depths of the outfield because he couldn't possibly make the throw, he has EVERY RIGHT to call timeout once the players have stopped their advancement! It is not ABUSING the rules, it is MAKING USE of the rules (or lack thereof). A good ballplayer does it all the time (in every sport)...that is one of the things that makes him good (smart)!
I have tried to be civil in my response (although this stuff sometimes wants to make me pull my hair out and scream). Just because a guy is an ump and knows the rules, doesn't make him a good ump.
PPS. All logical responses welcome. If someone simply needs to refute me because they can't stand being wrong, spare me. On the other hand, if I missed something and you have a logical solution, I will be willing to admit error.