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All this talk about ASA vs NFHS. Any of you umpires that do both should know by now that the LB rule is both books is 99.999% identical. The only difference I see is that ASA uses 8' radius and NFHS uses 16' dia to describe the circle; and ASA uses the pronoun HE and NFHS uses SHE. Oh, and ASA uses EFFECT and NFHS uses PENALTY, but the verbage within is identical.
Despite all the words, there is no difference between "Rounding" 1B and "Over-running" 1B. In both cases you have your basic "3 step rule" - Stop, Decide, and Proceed Non-Stop.
The runner gets to stop once, then must decide whether to go to the next base or back to the last base. After the decision, the runner must proceed non-stop to the base of choice.
If the runner "rounds" 1B, her movement is towards 2B and she get to stop once. (And we are not going to argue about how far she can go before the STOP.) Then decide, and either go to 2B or back to 1B.
If the runner "over-runs" 1B, her movement is towards RF. When she pulls up to return to the infield she has committed a stop.
A) If she turns Left then she must decide - go to 2B or return to 1B. Any movement towards either base commits her to proceed non-stop to that base.
B) If she turns Right she is assumed to have decided to return to 1B, and any other action would be illegal.
If you will just remember this "3-Step Rule", understand, and officiating the Look-Back Rule is simple.
Oh BTW, there is one other difference between ASA and NFHS. For the LB to be in effect in ASA the pitcher must have control of the ball (in hand or glove); in NFHS the pitcher only has to have possession. Tucked under the chin while she adjusts her pony tail is possession in NFHS.
WMB
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