Quote:
Originally posted by Jerry
If a local rule reads, "The hands are part of the bat." why would it be up to us to say, "No they're not!" The best you can do is be familiar with the "real" rule, but invoke the local rule. To do otherwise is doing a disservice to the participants of the game you're officiating.
So you see . . . the hands CAN be part of the bat after all!
(Oops . . . that's a different discussion.)
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Well, there's reasons why leagues shouldn't make up rules like this:
-- Teams that play in both leagues and tournaments will need to understand differences between the rules (not uncommon in summer vs. FED ball).
-- Umpires will need special training on league rules; some may have already been trained in other areas, and might try to apply the "real" rule as opposed to the league rule. Also, umpires trained by the league are going to have problems advancing since they likely don't know what the "real" rules are.
-- Most league rules are too vague, too obscure, too difficult to administer, etc. If a league did create a rule that "hands are part of the bat", does this still count even if the hand isn't in contact with the bat? What if the batter's entire arm is in contact with the bat, are the arms part of the bat as well? If there is a "must slide" rule, does the runner still need to slide if the catcher is 20' up the line? If there is a continuous lineup, what happens when one player leaves the game?
I understand there's a need to modify the rules for safety, speed-up, and participation purposes. But to invoke rules such as "hands are part of the bat" and "1+1 on an overthrow" because that's what most of the coaches think the rule is, that's getting ridiculous.