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Originally Posted by Dakota
Actually. the sentence about the pitcher is not required to pitch, etc., is one of the parts of the ASA rule book I like to make fun of.
I know what they were trying to say, but they really mucked up the wording of the sentence.
What they are trying to say was "A pitcher may be replaced with a new pitcher at any time whether or not the pitcher has thrown a pitch."
Instead they said that the pitcher is not required to pitch until the side has been retired. How the heck does the inning end if the pitcher doesn't pitch?
Making fun of the goofy sentence is one thing. But the intent of the sentence is pretty clear.
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The kicker is that the sentence shouldn't be there to begin. The ONLY reason it exists is due to the folks I referred to earlier. The people who try to "out think" the rules or insist on inserting their beliefs and rules from other games.
If you check the rule book where legal substitution is involved, you will not see any particular defensive position mentioned other than in this particular sentence. IOW, any legal substitution or re-entry may take place during any dead ball period.
That should be the end of it. Unfortunately, as shown by this thread, it is not. So, what it comes down to is the dummying down of a rule presentation to accommodate the few who believe they know more than everyone else.