Quote:
Originally Posted by Manny A
FWIW, both ASA and NFHS state in their respective rule books that a play at first base is a force. Where? It's in the Double-First rule (8-2-M in ASA, and 8-10 in NFHS).
Under 8-2-M-4 in the ASA book, it says, "On any force out attempt from the foul side of first base, the defense and the batter-runner may use either..." The exact same wording is in 8-10-2a in Fed
Fed also mentions in 8-10-1, Penalty 2, "The batter-runner is out for interference when there is a force play and the batter-runner touches only the white portion..." And in Penalty 3, it says, "Obstruction is called on the defense when there is a force play on the batter-runner..."
So while both ASA and NFHS define Force as only being applied to other runners, they recognize that a play on the BR at first is essentially a force play. They may not have intended to do that, but it's in their books.  |
Unfortunately, it is the dummying down of the rules for people to understand and it is easier than typing "has yet to reach first base safely" multiple times. It is much like the second sentence of RS #36B is blatantly inaccurate, but ASA insists on keeping it there as they believe the coach and players will understand better.
IOW, they do not believe the some people have the reading skills to comprehend the written rule & interpretation. Problem is, along with the coaches and players, less experienced umpires take it as a rule and misapply it during the game. Sort of like in SP, some umpires dummy down their verbiage and signals to the player's level with calls like "deep", "flat", "high", etc.