[Elaine "Lady Blue"]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by greymule
[B]Guy rounds 3B and pulls up lame. Halfway home, he falls to the ground, clutching his hamstring. Call time out?


No, unless he was screaming, then the ball is dead and ask the coach to replace him with a legal sub and place the runner on 3rd.

Without the injury, he would have been safe. But with it, he's a dead duck. Are we supposed to award him home?

No

Two outfielders collide and lie apparently unconscious on the ground. Do we call time out as the ball scoots away? Do we then say, "I guess that's a triple"?

Be careful here, this happened in Lawrenceville, Ga. (metro Atlanta) about 5 years ago, and one of the guys ribs stabbed his heart and he was virtually dead as he hit the ground (true story, Men's B) after a collision between a SS that had gone deep and the LCF.

What if another outfielder immediately snags the ball and fires it in?

Call the play the way it happens.


To me, the play doesn't stop because of an injury, but you do call time at the earliest possible moment. No waiting to see whether somebody makes a late break for the next base. That will rarely be more than a few seconds. In the extraordinary case of someone getting a deep gash or suffering a severe blow to the head, then yes, immediate time out and later do the best you can sorting out the play.


I agree with Andy, if you kill the play and later it is determined it wasn't necessary, remind the complaining party that it is better to be safe than sorry. These are only games folks, not life, not the MLB World Series. We all can use good judgement.