Quote:
Originally Posted by blueit
It may well be my last post. This will be my last on this topic.
We've got a rule that doesn't say immediate or delayed dead ball (for the tag that makes no safe-out difference). We've got a comment that specifically says call dead ball at the end of the play, not upon the non-event tag. And we end up awarding bases or protection to runners not affected by the obstruction. None of those things seem to bother anyone here.
Evidently it's too much of a threat to the "this is how we call it" mindset
to even acknowledge that the rule is incomplete or the comment is wrong,
not to mention explore the WHY of whether a meaningless tag should kill further action. I was hoping for some real objective, 'big picture' discussion of why this SHOULD be called as it apparently is, and at least an acknowledgment that both the rule and comment need some improvement or (as to the comment) deletion.
Instead, it's just, over and over, "of course it's an immediate dead ball ... because that's how we call it."
I've taken an informal poll among 3-4 of the younger umps in our group & several of the old timers. The former group, after I've explained "how it's called", despite the casebook comment, was unanimous that "That doesn't make much sense." The latter group's reaction was, "That's how it's always been called," and they don't really want to think about whether it really makes sense or not -- that's just the way it is. It's apparent which group predominates here.
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Besides Tom's excellent points, I'd just add one thing. You haven't been carefully reading the responses you are getting because this has been dealt with. For example, I provided you a case where your proposed alternative language wouldn't work and a case where your rule would just create a mess and you dropped those threads. Tom has very clearly pointed out that dead ball means dead ball and challenged you to provide a single rule book rule where that wasn't the case multiple times.
You assert that there is a case play with comment that is incorrect, but you haven't posted the whole text of it so what you see as a contradiction might well just be a case where you're missing a distinguishing factor of the play. The folks here will be happy to teach you as noted by the fact that they put up with me. They are veterans who like helping people and discussing interesting softball situations. But you have to put in a fair effort on your side and realize that you're not offering anything to them. They know how to call this and they know how to read the rule.
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