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Originally Posted by Dakota
David, good luck with your crusade, although I suspect you'd have a greater impact on the game by teaching umpires the rule.
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Yeah, you're probably right.
As far as explaining/teaching it ... been there done that.
The problem is that nobody really feels the need to understand this rule very in depth, mostly because their experience tells them that they know "enough" of the rule to be functional. And they're right!
But the day they run up against a creative coach, who understands the rule very well, they will have difficulties.
But even then ... probably not. Because it's unlikely the other team will have a clear understanding of what is legal or not.
There'll be some questions asked. The lineup cards will come out. Then there'll be a collective shrug of the shoulders and the game will continue, whether it was done properly or not.
I have to confess, when I coached, we would frequently have the DP on the field while the DEFO (old terminology) was on the bench. I knew it was illegal but nobody noticed, nobody cared, and we were getting everybody in without having to worry about substitutions. Of course, this only works with low-profile players, usually an outfielder.
Nobody hardly takes the time to notice that there is a different left fielder out there
this inning compared to
last inning. And even if they
did, they'd probably dismiss it as the usual DP defensive shuffling that can occur - not realizing that the FLEX is on the bench, illegally, because no substitution was announced.
David Emerling
Memphis, TN