[greymule]

still dont see why FP softyball is discussed here

It is discussed as it relates to baseball. I am one of many umpires who do both baseball and softball, and I don't try to insulate understanding of one game from understanding of the other. Softball derived from baseball, and in my opinion is best understood in that context. It is instructive, for example, in studying softball rules, such as with regard to INT and OBR, to understand how they differ from (or are similar to) OBR. That principle can work the other way, too.

There are people on the softball board who get upset when someone invokes baseball, but if comparing the rule sets aids in the understanding of some aspect of one or the other, I don't see any problem.

I know there are baseball umps who look down on softball and act as if any discussion of it—much less the officiating of it—would somehow be beneath them. I'm not one of them.

It's not as if somebody decided to use the baseball board to pose a question on field hockey.

I've been participating in these boards for years, and if a thread takes a turn that doesn't interest me, it's easy to ignore it.