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Roger,
In the Maryland NFHS Umpire's Clinic they pointed out the error in the wording of the rules and explained that this was a typo and we were to call the rule as it should have been written which is that only an INfielder may make a dead ball appeal. The clinician claimed to bring this directly from Indianapolis.
Delaware has their NFHS Umpire's Clinic this Monday evening, so if I hear anything different, I'll let everyone know.
Don,
That is exactly what I meant. The act which constitutes the appeal is what is important in relation to scoring any runs on a third out.
A perfect example of this was in a Player's Invitational (?) tournament game in Providence RI a few years ago. My team, the IrishMafia, had a runner dead out at second in the 12th or 13th inning. The runner had just rounded third when the play occured. However, the blue waited for the dust to clear and asked to see the ball. By the time the SS showed him the ball, the runner crossed the plate. The BU declared the runner out at second and the PU allowed the run to end the game. I must have argued for more than 5 minutes and the only response I got from the PU was, "How am I supposed to know the runner was out until he called it?"
Well, that game took us out of the Championship round and we never made another trip to RI.
But the point is that it is the play, not the blue's right arm which determines the timing of the out call.
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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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