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#1 - The Hammer. The ASA hammer has been a raised arm with hand open, then pull down to 90 deg position with hand closed. (The NFHS has been a closed fist directly to the 90 deg position.) At the MASA State Clinic last spring we were shown a new hammer - a closed fist slightly behind the ear and pushed into the 90 deg position. When pointed out that was not the technique shown in the 2003 rule book, the instructor stated that the change was made after the book went to print.
So - has ASA changed the hammer? And is that what we should expect to see in the 2004 book?
#2 - 2 man crew: PU mechanic with runner on 1b only, batter hits ball. PU goes up 1B line appx 20', then fades diagonally across diamond to take lead runner to 3B.
Suppose batter bunts; F1 fields ball, has no chance at 2B, then throws ball in dirt at 1B. PU is cutting across diamond, throw to 3B is nearly parallel to BU and coming from behind. This seems like a violation of the Inside-Out theory - you only have three elements (runner, defender, and base) in front of you; ball is behind. I understand when you don't want to be in foul territory at a play at 3B, but this seems like a very bad position to make a call. Or is it the best you can do? The lesser of two evils?
WMB
[Edited by WestMichBlue on Sep 25th, 2003 at 12:02 AM]
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