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To address two issues raised.
Good rule, but does it belong in the ASA book or just in each tournament's rules. I usually call "take the field" right after the pre-game if I'm ready and then announce "the clock is starting NOW".
Remember, the book is for Championship Play and is already defined in ASA Rule 5.10. My offered change is to move the starting time from the "first pitch" to the end of the pre-game to try and eliminate all the last minute team meetings, instructions and warm-up.
The idea is to get the point across that the time they waste in the beginning of the game can come back to haunt them and hopefully, they will have their team ready to play instead of using 115 minutes to get in a game with a 100 minute limit.
Also, the elimination of the "about to receive" IS a safety issue as it will mean the defender needs to learn how to accept a throw and THEN move into the basepath which is the way it is supposed to be done to begin. It is my opinion that coaches who believe entering the basepath prior to receiving the ball are fools, especially at the youth level.
This is the rule at the international level and it works quite well.
It also eliminates the umpire's role of judging the position of the ball. Either it is in possesion of the fielder or it isn't.
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The bat issue in softball is as much about liability, insurance and litigation as it is about competition, inflated egos and softball.
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