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| To say the rule could be worded better is a gross understatement. It is horribly worded! The mere fact that we're even talking about, what should be, an elementary substitution rule speaks volumes. |
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Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA
No, what this discussion is showing is that you are having a hard time comprehending a simple softball rule. It is an elementary substitution rule and your refusal to accept it speaks volumes. WTF is so hard to understand that a pitcher is no different from any other player on the team when it comes to substitutions or defensive positioning?
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Instead of bashing each other, let's accept this sentence for what it is - another example of ASA's lousy literary skills.
The best way to comprehend the intent behind the rules is to follow them year after year. That way you pick up the nuances and word changes that someone new to the editorial staff creates.
From 1932 to about 1985 ASA substitution rules stated that each pitcher "
must pitch until the first batter facing him has completed his turn at bat, the side has been retired or he has been removed from the game."
Now that is pretty simple; I think that anyone with a decent command of the English language can understand that sentence.
So when ASA decided to eliminate that requirement they added a note stating that "
The pitcher no longer has to pitch until etc. etc. etc." So if you knew the rule the day before, this is easy to understand. Instead of
must pitch, now its
no longer has to pitch.
Ten years later ASA must have decided that everyone now knew the rule, so they dropped it. Just took it out of the book and let it disappear for a couple years!
In '98 they re-entered the note - only with a minor word change. "
The pitcher is not required to pitch until the first batter etc. etc."
"No longer" is changed to "Is not." Anyone picking up a book for the first timef in the last 8 years is going to read this sentence out of its historical context. "
Huh? What do you mean - he is not required to pitch?" "Of course not; nobody said he had to." So then you start searching for the hidden meaning.
Talk to an old-timer and he says "oh yeah, he used to have to pitch, but it is no longer required". The words "no longer" instantly convey the message that it used to be required, but not anymore. Now it is easy to understand, even when you pick up the book for the first time.
WMB
AtlUmpSteve - If I were you I'd go back and delete your post, for it is so full of B.S. and factual errors it doesn't belong here.