[Dakota]

Thoughts on the mercy rules.

Called a state qualifier tournament this past weeked. ASA Championship rules with a modification to the mercy rule: added 10 after 4 to the 15 after 3 and 8 after 5.

I've often wondered about where those particular numbers came from. Where is it in the basics of the game that a team that is 15 behind after less than half the game is in a hopeless situation?

Championship game of a double elimination tournament, loser's bracket winner v winner's bracket winner. Loser's bracket team (which was the team that lost in the final game of the winner's bracket.) wins.

"If" game. I've got the bases. Winner's bracket team is home & scores 10 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning, score 10-0. 2nd inning, visitors score 2. Home scores 3. 13-2. 3rd inning, visitors score 0. Home loads bases with no outs. Winning run at plate. K's. Next batter hits a shallow fly to left. 2 out. Next batter is thrown out at first. So, visitors live one more inning, but now mercy rule is now 10, not 15, and the margin is 11.

Visitors score 2 in the top, and hold home to no runs. Live for one more inning. Margin now 9 (13-4). Visitors score 2 more in the top of the 5th. Home again held to no score. Again, just barely escape the mercy rule (13-6).

6th inning, visitors score 5, home no score. (13-11) 7th inning, visitors score 4 to finally go ahead 15-13 (big hit was a deep fly into RF with bases loaded, scoring 3).

Bottom of the 7th, home has R1 on 2B with two outs, batter hits a sharp grounder to F6 who bobbles it a bit, gains control in time for a bang-bang out at 1B. Game over.

Team that barely kept their head above the mercy rule 3 times wins by 2.

Does kind of make you wonder - how many teams sent home after 3 or 5 could have come back? Where did 15 after 3 come from? Or 8 after 5?