SAFETY REMINDER

This is a reminder about a few of the rules we need to follow or risk being ejected from our games. Before I get too deep into this, I wish to make clear that my intention is not to criticize or pick on anyone. I mean only to ensure that we have a safe, well played game. Just as much as I don't want any our players to be kicked out of our games, I don't want our opponents running over any of our players. Now, let's get started.

NEW RULE FOR CATCHERS

Prior to our first game, the umpire told me there is a new rule for 2011 requiring the catcher to make all outs at home plate. I haven't received my copy of the 2011 ASA rulebook yet so I can't confirm if this is true.  For now we'll have to assume he's correct. If we have a different umpire this week, Gary or I will see if he is enforcing the same rule.

SOME BASICS FOR OUR NEWCOMERS

I would have preferred to cover this at practice but we haven't been able to get everyone together at the same time so I'll have to blog it. Experienced players, you can stop here. You already know this stuff. But our new players who haven't played coed softball need to keep reading.

LEAGUE NEWS

There's going to be a vote on some important issues at this week's league meeting. Here are the notes I received from our commissioner, Paul Martin:
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"We have some items to vote on for next week:
1- Allowing each team to have up to 2 outside women play this year.
2- Allowing the “Untouchables” to have 1 outside man this year only.
3- Game days to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays instead of Wednesdays and Thursdays.
4- Allow the City team to participate this year? (If not allowed and we only have 9 teams, each team will have 1 bye week during the season, and the last place team will have to be eliminated from the playoffs.)

During the meeting, 4 teams had a need for about 2 additional women, prompting the vote for next week to allow 2 outside women per team. Darriel’s requesting a woman’s husband be allowed to play as his team is short men due to last minute roster losses. (He states he’s not a “ringer”)

We are looking for registration fees by May 13^th (payday).  The fee is $35 per player.  I’m looking into what days we can have practice fields secured and will get back to everyone.  A few teams were requesting Thursday only games, thus is why we are voting for Tuesday instead of Wednesday game days next week.
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Any thoughts?

Richmond Strikes Again!

At the end of my post about the Richmond game, I warned the teams who will be playing Richmond in the future to bring their rule books to the park. I was right on the money. Today they tried to pull one over on the Master Batters.

Mod Squad on the Horizon

Our next challenge is upon us this afternoon. The Mod Squad have a very good team and we'll have to play well to beat them. Don't think we can just show up and come away with a win. We had two good practice sessions this week so we should be well prepared. Still, I have some food for thought.

Master Batters vs. Terminal Digits

I took a bunch of pictures at yesterday's game which you can find here.

There was some discussion in the stands about three controversial rulings in yesterday's game. I witnessed two of them and one of them was definitely a blown call by the umpire. I didn't have a clear view of the second one but my impression was that the umpire made the correct call. The third one I did not witness because I was beyond the centerfield fence taking some pictures. I'll get to that one last.

TSC Outlaws Seize Opportunities, Prevail 9-8

I covered most of yesterday's events here so I won't repeat myself. I'm interested to know how everyone feels about it, though. I'd would like to go over some of the rules that were abused yesterday -- not to dwell on the affect they had in our defeat but to be aware of them so we don't get screwed again in our future games. First, let's go to the play where Derric was called out after over-running first base because he rotated to his left, rather than his right when returning to the bag. At the time, I said the rule book states very plainly that he can turn in either direction so long as he does not make any effort to advance to second base. Here's the proof from page 119 of the ASA rule book: "After over-running first base, the batter-runner may legally turn to their left or their right when returning to the base. If any attempt is made to advance to second base, regardless of whether the runner is in fair or foul territory, they are liable for an appeal out if tagged with the ball by a defensive player while off the base." As it was perfectly obvious to anyone with at least a few functioning brain cells, Derric made no effort whatsoever to advance to second base. He turned a 180 and was heading back to first base when the Outlaws used their mob rule technique to coerce Sammy into his uninformed decision. If we had a proper umpire present, it's not likely that call would have been made. If it was, we would have certainly played the remainder of the game under protest. But Sammy was out there on his own time doing us a favor by umpiring so we let it slide. From this point forward, let's always turn to our right after over-running first base. It's obvious we can't depend on the umpires to know the rule and we certainly can't depend on our opponents to play fairly. In the third inning, the Outlaws again made an effort to flout the rules by attempting to use multiple courtesy runners in the same inning. Playing Rule #7 states quite clearly that only one courtesy runner is allowed per inning. "7. Courtesy Runner: One courtesy runner is allowed per inning in all leagues. The courtesy runner must be the same sex as the batter. If the courtesy runner’s turn to bat comes up while on base, the runner will be called out and the player will come to bat. " There were some other minor infractions such as not pitching from within six inches of the pitcher's plate and an attempt to circumvent the strikeout rule but I expect a proper umpire will be on top of those. It's pretty irritating that most of our opponents in this league can't or won't familiarize themselves with the rules of the game. It's even more irritating when they complain as we try to stop them from cheating. We waste so much of our game time dealing with blowhards who argue the rules without knowing them. Apparently, they think yelling the loudest makes them right.

The Rules

To keep the amount of time wasted squabbling over the rules during our games to a minimum, I want to cover some of them here. Not that I anticipate any funny business with the Mod Squad as they typically display a high level of sportsmanship. Still, it's always good to know the rules. First, in the discipline department, we have this: Casual Profanity: Foul language is not permitted on or around the playing field by any player at anytime. Players using profanity will be warned by the official after the first offense and will be ejected after the second offense. NOTE: Officials may eject a player without first giving a warning depending on the nature of the remark. So watch your language. And should you find yourself ejected and you want to play again in the next game, it will cost you $50.00: Any participant who is ejected from a game is automatically suspended for the next game and will be required to pay a $50.00 (CASH) ejection fee before they will be allowed to continue playing in the league. A player ejected from a second game will automatically be suspended from all current AND future City of Richmond sponsored leagues until further notice. Getting into the game play, here's the strike zone rule. The “Mat & Plate” will be used to call balls and strike. Any legal pitch (fairly delivered within the height of six (6) feet to twelve (12) feet from the ground that hits either the mat or the plate will be declared a strike. Dimension of the mat 23” width and 24” length with the home plate cut out. In other words, so long as the pitch is delievered at least six feet high but no more than twelve feet high and it hits the plate or the mat, it's a strike. The traditional letters to knees strike zone in baseball does not apply here. And here's the controversial two-base rule for walks to male batters: On a walk to a male batter (intentional or not) the batter is awarded two (2) bases. The next batter, a female, must bat with less than two (2) outs. If there are two (2) outs she has her choice of hitting or taking a walk. Last year, a male batter who walked got two bases only if he was thrown four straight balls without a strike. The rule has been changed this year. Any walk to any male batter is two bases. The female batter who follows him can take a walk to first base only if there are two outs. The pitcher has the option to start his/her delivery up to 6 inches in front of the rubber. The pitcher will need to be set before delivering the pitch to the batter. Pitcher flexibility is a must to prevent injury consider pitcher helmet. What Sammy was doing last week was illegal. He started nearly a foot in front of the rubber and took three steps to deliver the ball. Our local rule provides only a six inch allowance in front of the pitching rubber. Other than that, the pitcher has to conform to the ASA rule rule that provides that at part of one foot remain in contact with the pitching rubber until the ball leaves his/her hand (Rule 6, Section 3.A). So if he's starting six inches in front of the rubber, his pivot foot has to remain in contact with that spot six inches in front. He can't stroll a quarter of the way to the plate before delievering the ball. Here's another rule that's likely to come up often: Courtesy Runner: One courtesy runner is allowed per inning in all leagues. The courtesy runner must be the same sex as the batter. If the courtesy runner’s turn to bat comes up while on base, the runner will be called out and the player will come to bat. You can't get much clearer than that. Each team gets only one courtesy runner per inning. Choose wisely. Here's another big one that's a drastic change from last year: 2. Fielding: A) Outfielders (including rovers / buck shorts) must remain behind the restraint line and infielders must remain in the infield until the pitch reaches the plate or is hit (The restraint line is a line of cones in the outfield at an arch 150’ from home plate). PENALTY: Failure to abide by this rule will result in fielder’s interference. A delayed dead ball will be called by the official. If the batter reaches the base safely, the play will stand. If an out was made, the batter will be placed on base safely. 1.) Must have at least two women in the outfield. In essence, the rover position has been eliminated. You have to play four outfielders behind the markers. You can still call your fourth outfielder a rover if you wish but what's the point? He/She can't do any roving. And don't forget that last point. Every team must have at least two women in the outfield. That's it for now. If I can identify any others that are likely to cause confusion or controversy, I'll try to cover them here later. Everyone on the team should become familiar with the local rules. I have posted them on the Rules page of our website.

How Many Ways Can An Umpire Be Wrong?

You might recall a play in our game against SWAT on Wednesday in which one of their batters with an 0-2 count fouled off the next pitch which arced slightly upward and was caught about head high by Darlene. Whether or not it was ruled a foul ball or a foul tip, the batter should have been called out. Instead, the umpire called it a foul ball. We tried to appeal to the umpire but he yelled "FOUL BALL" even louder. I tried one more time to calmly reason with him and again, he yelled even louder, "FOUL BALL!" I knew he was dead wrong on two counts but I didn't make a big issue of it because I didn't want to antagonize him or delay the game. Anyway, this is straight out of the Rules Supplement of the ASA Official Rules of Softball, page 110: 22. FOUL BALL/FOUL TIP The reference of the "height of the batter's head" as it relates to a Foul Ball or Foul Tip no longer applies. This change, instituted in 2006, allows more opportunity for the catcher to obtain "outs" by catching foul batted balls, the same as the first and third base person who is playing closer to home plate. Umpires only need to judge whether the ball moves from the bat "sharply" and "directly" versus a ball that has a perceptible arc and/or if the catcher moves their glove/mitt to catch the ball after contact with the bat. The definition of a foul ball has not changed. However, a foul tip in now defined as a batted ball that goes sharply and directly from the bat to the catcher's glove/mitt or hand and is legally caught by the catcher. It is not a foul tip unless caught and any foul tip that is caught is a strike, and the ball remains live in Fast Pitch and Slow Pitch with stealing. It is not a catch if the ball rebounds off the catcher, unless the ball has first touched the catcher's glove/mitt or hand. Again, a foul tip can only be caught by the catcher. Examples of a foul ball and foul tip follow: A. A foul ball with a "perceptible" arc goes toward the catchers left and the catcher moves their glove/mitt to catch the ball. In this situation, the batter is out and the ball remains live just as it would when any other fielder catches a foul fly ball. B. The foul ball rebounds from the bat with a "perceptible arc" shoulder high and the catcher moves upward with the glove/mitt to make the catch. In this situation, the batter is out and the ball remains live just as it would when any other fielder catches a foul fly ball. C. (Fast Pitch example snipped) Darlene's catch clearly falls under example B and the batter should have been called out. But even if the umpire missed that rule, there is also this: Rule 7, Section 4 - A strike is called by the umpire E. for each foul tip. EFFECT: (Slow Pitch) The ball is dead and the batter is out if it is the third strike. When the SWAT batter fouled a pitch with two strikes and Darlene caught it before it struck the ground, the batter should have been called out whether it was a foul ball or a foul tip. The umpire was wrong. But he was worse than wrong. By shouting us down when we attempted to point out his mistake, he was wrong and arrogant -- not a good combination. I understand the umpire's need to maintain control of the game and keep it from breaking down to a endless stream of arguments. However, we didn't come running in ranting and screaming like a certain team in brightly colored uniforms is prone to do. We approached him calmly and tried to reason with him but he refused to listen. In my eyes, an umpire loses credibility when he does this. If his ego and knowledge of the rules are so fragile that he refuses to be questioned, he shouldn't be umpiring. We're adults and we shouldn't be shouted down like children when we question one of his decisions. When he is dead wrong and we are 100% correct, it only makes it worse. Luckily, this occurred in a lopsided game and the batter struck out on the next pitch. It didn't have any affect on the outcome of the game. Can you imagine how things would have turned out if it had been the tying or winning run in the last inning of a game involving that previously mentioned team in the brightly colored uniforms? Richmond may have been forced to call out the real SWAT team along with the riot squad.