Quote:
Originally posted by Art N
Really? That has not been made clear at all! I'll have to go over this with our board or instructors...I must have missed that night in class. I have the paperwork on it (separate from the book of course). Thanks again for helping me out. Which board are you with Rich?
|
Your board and/or instructors are wrong. I no longer live in Massachusetts, but if you want a reference to the actual rules you could take a look at the MIAA web page and look at tournament rules. There it SPECIFICALLY says that the NCAA rules regarding contact are to be used. You've already admitted in your original message that you don't know this rule (but you've HEARD what it says, right?).
There is no must slide rule in FED or NCAA. There is what is called a force play slide rule but that defines what is a legal slide if a runner chooses to slide.
Hearing something from instructors or board members means nothing to me. Not all instructors or board members are competent umpires or competent instructors -- many of these positions are political in nature and that is certainly true in a state where patronage is virtually an art form.
Added:
At first I thought you were being a bit sarcastic, to be honest, but then I read a message by you in another thread.
I used to umpire in Massachusetts. I've umpired HS baseball in 5 other states as well. There are many myths out there that are advanced, unfortunately, by umpires who are not quite educated as they should be. Then coaches take these umpires' knowledge for granted and this just perpetuates these myths.
A must-slide rule is one of these myths. You NEVER have to slide. You have to avoid contact, if possible.
Once, in Massachusetts, I saw a varsity umpire call out a runner who got around a swipe tag at home plate because "the runner must slide." This had to be the worst call I have ever seen.
I'm not picking on Massachusetts. I had a varsity head coach in Wisconsin tell me on Monday that a JV umpire called runners out for sliding head first when advancing into a base and said it was a new WIAA rule. Well, it's a Little League rule for 12-year-olds and younger, so it's a rule SOMEWHERE.
I'm just saying that you can only count on yourself to become as educated as possible and KNOW COLD the rules and interpretations for the games you're working.
--Rich
[Edited by Rich Fronheiser on Apr 18th, 2004 at 08:24 PM]