Two Fantastic Games

Those who made it out to Nicholl Park today were treated to their choice of two stellar games. I chose to sit in the warm sunshine at Seawright Field and watch the Terminal Digits play the Master Batters rather than shiver in the cold shade of Nicholl Park #2 where SWAT was playing Richmond.



The Terminal Digits and Master Batters played a real nail-biter with the TD's winning it 14-13 with a run in the bottom of the 7th. The TD's jumped out to an early lead but the MB's fought back to take the lead with seven runs in the top of the fifth inning. From there it was a real high tension affair until the TD's finally tallied the winning run.

I didn't see any of the action over at NP #2 but Andrew Hanks of SWAT stopped by Seawright Field on his way out and told us SWAT battled their way to a 19-18 victory over Richmond. I wish there was a way I could have seen both games.

There were some issues with the rules that popped up during the TD's/MB's game. During one of the MB's at bats, a right-handed player went to the plate batting left-handed. He took two wild swings that missed by about a foot. After barely fouling off a third to stay alive, he switched over to bat right-handed. There were calls from the field and the stands that he's not allowed to do that.

Actually, he is allowed to switch sides -- so long as he does it before the pitcher is in position to pitch. Once the pitcher is on the pitcher's plate (rubber) and ready to deliver, the batter cannot leave the batter's box without first being granted a timeout. Here is the ASA rule:

The batter shall not step directly in front of the catcher to the other batter's box while the pitcher (fastpitch only) is taking the signal or (slowpitch only) is in position to pitch, or anytime thereafter prior to the release of the pitch. EFFECT:The ball is dead, the batter is out and the runners may not advance.


I wasn't paying attention to the pitcher at the time. If the TD's pitcher, was set and ready to pitch, the batter should have been called out. Otherwise, he was okay to bat right-handed. (He ended up lining out to second base anyway so it didn't make any difference.)

There was also a small controversy on a force play at second base when the TD's runner slid hard into second base. Sliding to second base is the proper thing to do when the runner can be forced out. If he goes into second base standing up and collides with the fielder who has received the throw at second, he is out and subject to ejection if the umpire rules the collision was flagrant (Rule 8, Section 7.Q). The umpire can also rule it a double play if in his judgment the defense could have turned two without the runner's interference. Our league's rules require the runner to slide, stop or veer out of the way to avoid colliding with the fielder in that circumstance.

The MB's were under the impression the runner didn't slide directly to the bag in an effort to beat the throw without overrunning the bag. They felt the runner slid at the fielder intentionally with a takeout slide. I can't comment on that because I couldn't see the play that closely from my seat in the bleachers. I'd like to think the runner wasn't going out of his way to make contact with the fielder. The fielder does have some responsibility in this situation. The fielder can't just plant him/herself on the bag and expect a runner going at full speed to stop on a dime. That's why the runner slides in that situation.

The game continued without much delay or argument in both situations which is a credit to the TD's and the MB's. If only all of our league's games could be so spirited and exciting.