Memory Jog - BOO

[MD Longhorn]

Thought we already determined it was 3 in FED, if the 2 outs were not the improper batter.

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

Thought we already determined it was 3 in FED, if the 2 outs were not the improper batter.

That's correct.

The confusion comes (in my view) because the Op (that's you) did not specify which runners were involved in the DP.

So, if the situation starts with R1 and R2, no outs, then:

a) R1 and R2 are out on the DP, with BR reaching first: FED: B3 is out for BOO; the other outs stand. Inning over.

b) R1 and BR are out on the DP, with R2 reaching third: FED: B3 is out for BOO. R1 is out on the play. R2 returns to second. B4 bats with two outs.

For NCAA and OBR on both plays: B3 is out for BOO, R1 and R2 return to first and second.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

That's correct.

The confusion comes (in my view) because the Op (that's you) did not specify which runners were involved in the DP.

So, if the situation starts with R1 and R2, no outs, then:

a) R1 and R2 are out on the DP, with BR reaching first: FED: B3 is out for BOO; the other outs stand. Inning over.

b) R1 and BR are out on the DP, with R2 reaching third: FED: B3 is out for BOO. R1 is out on the play. R2 returns to second. B4 bats with two outs.

For NCAA and OBR on both plays: B3 is out for BOO, R1 and R2 return to first and second.

Yeah ... the OP (that's me) didn't know it mattered until I read it here. I think the last FED baseball game I did was at least 5 years ago, so I'd forgotten.

[greymule]

In ASA softball, even the leadoff batter of an inning can account for 3 outs, improper batter or not—if he hits a ball over the fence after his team has reached its home run limit. (This rule is popular with umpires.)

Explain please.

It used to be that excess (over-the-fence) home runs were just outs. Batter out, all runners return TOP.

I umpired many games in which teams would reach their home run limit in, say, the third inning but still be unable to keep the ball in the park. I remember when two big-time teams together hit 11 "outs" over the fence after they had reached their limit. The game ended 44-38.

I've seen teams that were trailing badly in the bottom of the seventh simply hit three blasts over the fence to get the game over with. (When those crusher teams are trying to hit the ball over the fence, the balls sometimes land 100 or more feet past the 300-foot fence.)

But a couple of years ago, ASA decided to increase the penalty such that not only was the batter out, but the half-inning ended at that point. If you have the bases loaded and no outs, and your batter hits one over the fence, it's 3 outs, 0 runs, and change sides.

Most rec leagues with home run limits still penalize with just the batter out, but in the official ASA tournaments, the immediate-three-outs rule applies.