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Originally Posted by tcannizzo
The "Play On" philosophy begs the question of safety/liability issues.
If you saw the ball, did not kill the play, and a defensive player was struck in the head while the ball was in flight, or a baserunner unaware stepped on the extra ball causing a compound leg fracture.
The question goes beyond its affect on the play. It's how much risk is involved; and would it be a case of gross-negligence if an injury were to occur?
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What happens if a base comes up? Do you stop the game because an unaware player may trip over it or step in the hole left by a missing base?
If a sea gull is flying low over the field, do you stop the game because a ball may hit it or the bird may attack a player? Are you going to stop a play because a ball gets away from girls warming up to enter the game? If an infielder loses her glove while diving for a line drive, do you stop the game because the runner may trip over it?
We can come up with hundreds of possible scenarios in which anyone could incur an injury. Softball, like damn near every other sport, have some dangers to it's participants. Some obvious, some not so.
The player accepts the risk of being injured when they step on the field. If the risk is too high in the player, manager, coach, parents or umpire's opinion, they should stay home.
I'm umpiring a ball game. If another ball enters the field, I don't care unless is approaches the area in which a play is occurring and only then to make sure I'm aware of which ball is part of my game.