[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by Stat-Man

Stuff that came up from last night.

(1) Do subs have to return to the same spot in the batting order? We were batting a straight 10 (no EH's) and we had S11 come for B1. Later in the game, when we made a pitching change, the manager subbed B1 for B7. I didn't think it was legal, since I'm used to NFHS FP where starters must re-enter in their original spot. Of course, I'm still an ASA rule novice and didn't wanna be wrong either.

That wasn't legal. If a player is substituted for, they must re-enter the game in the exact same spot in the batting order. Defensive positions have no bearing in this matter.

Originally Posted by Stat-Man

(2) If a team bats 12 (with 2 EH's) does the EH playing on defense for one of the original 10 count as a substitution. Our manager said he read the rules and that when the EH takes a field position, it counts as a sub and the original player has a re-entry. Personally, from what I read here, I thought having an EH playdefense was not a sub but a position change.

For the record, it's an EP, not an EH. If you're batting 12 in co-ed (or 11 in women's or men's), any 10 of those 12 can play defense. Those are not considered substitutions. It doesn't even need to be reported, so long as the batting order remains unchanged.

Originally Posted by Stat-Man

(3) In the game before ours, the pitcher was pitching so flat that he wasn't coming close to having 6' of arc in the first couple of innings. Is that supposed to be an illegal pitch? The umpire wasn't calling them illegal. (And I do seem to recall the IP penalty in SP is still a ball on the batter and runners getting the next base, unless the batter swings.)

The pitch should reach a minimum of 6' off the ground, and should be a maximum of 12' off the ground. The judgment of the height is left completely to the plate umpire. 6' doesn't look like much from the other side of the fence, and I hear "flat, blue!" a lot. My response? "Buddy, I'm 6' tall, and I know what 6' looks like every time I wake up in the morning."

If the pitch is called illegal, a ball is awarded to the batter, unless the batter swings. The runners do not advance a base (that's a fast pitch rule). Nothing more. If it's ball 4, then a male batter is awarded 2B, and a female batter is awarded 1B.

Originally Posted by Stat-Man

Aside from that, it's been a fun season since we're in 2nd place right now and in good shape for the playoffs in a couple of weeks.

And don't worry, If I help this team out next year, I _will_ be getting an ASA rulebook for myself. I figure if I'm going to do this for 2 or more years, I may as well become as rule-knowledgeable on my own as possible. But thanks for helping me with the initial learning curve this summer.

I'm glad you're having fun! Believe it or not, we're out there to have fun, and to see a good game, too. I'm glad to see someone take a deeper interest in how the game is really called.