[IRISHMAFIA]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by David Emerling

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Let's face it, softball wouldn't even exist it weren't for baseball.

There are just too many things in the softball rulebook that look conspicuously like baseball's rulebook to naively believe that the creators weren't referencing it. Of course they were!

In your opinion. Mine would be that if it wasn't for rounders or town ball as the settlers of Massachusetts called it, there wouldn't have been baseball. I am not a believer that Ol' Abner D'day came up with this all by himself and apparently, I'm not alone.

I have a hard time believing that the creators of ASA's 8-2-J weren't looking at OBR's 6.05(l) when it was written.

There can be no question what the intent of this rule is. It fills a hole in the Infield Fly rule, where there are situations that are *not* covered by the Infield Fly rule, whereby the defense can *still* benefit by purposely misplaying a batted ball ... like a dropped line drive or bunt. Or, when there are situations that do *not* involve runners at both 1st and 2nd. The intent is to prevent forced runners from being unfairly put in jeopardy.

A soft liner that is hit directly toward a fielder who simply allows the ball to hit his glove and fall directly to the ground (where there can be no reasonable claim that the ball was caught), and then picks it up to complete a double or triple play would be a gross injustice to the runners.

Would you really allow such a thing?

Absolutely! I did see an umpire rule the way you suggest at a National a few years back. It was a soft humpback to F4 with bases loaded, no outs. The defender took two steps in reverse and trapped the ball to the ground when it got below his knees. The umpire immediately ruled the ball dead, the batter out and moved the runners back. When asked about it after the game, he stated, "I'm not going to have any of that in my game." He was reminded that it wasn't "his" game and to not do it again.

Even the players knew it was the wrong call and requested that I overrule my partner (I was working the bases). I politely informed them that they would have to take their point to the man who made the call. They were up by a half-dozen and decided to just keep playing.

I'm waiting for Merle Butler's response to this. I'm not claiming I know the official interpreation ... you may be right ... I'm just claiming that if the official interpretation is as you say ... IT'S SENSELESS by any standard.

Like it or not, that's the rule and the interpretation as listed in POE#28. If the "powers-that-be" want to change the rule, that's fine by me because I'm getting paid to do what I am instructed to do. BTW, many softball rules are there because a play occurred during a game that the powers-that-be were forced to make a determination of how a similar play should be ruled in the future. Not because baseball has a different rule.