On deck circle
 

Does OBR (Babe Ruth in this case) require that players use the on deck circle on their side of the field? I know FED does but I can't seem to find it in OBR.

yes

OFF INTERP 76-89: PBUC: “The next batter up must be in the on-deck circle, and this is the only player who should be there (i.e., not more than one player at a time). This shall be strictly enforced. No other player of the side at bat will be permitted on the field except the batter, base runners and coaches.”

Um ... Johnny ... read his question again. This interp has NOTHING to do with his question.

This question has surfaced this summer in my area. The summer leagues around here are allowing batters to use the on deck circle on the side of the batter, so for a RH batter, they use the 3rd base on deck circle. They cite safety as the basis for allowing this. I don't happen to buy into that logic, but we allow them to alternate on-deck circles.

Proper decorum dictates that you take your swings in your own on deck circle. Enforce this at all levels and there won't be a problem.

When the kid gets hit because he is not paying attention in the batter circle the is in front of the batter and not behind him, then maybe you will. Most players do this specifically because it is safer but, what the heck do they know they are just kids.

In my close to 40 years of involvement in baseball I have never seen an injury from an on deck hitter getting hit. While I don't agree that this particular action is an obvious safety issue, I do believe in working to prevent injuries.

Bob, the reason I think it is a good idea is just the oppoisite. In almost 30 years I have seen it happen twice. Luckly nothing serious but, it did happen.
Base coaches wearing helmets was never considered a big deal either until someone got injured.

Unless there is some obvious problem with interaction between teams, I will always allow this.

Local League rule, go with the flow, if they allow it or require it.

The reason I asked was that I was doing a Ripken League game as a favor last week. I knew it had been common practice in this league to do this so I didn't object. The weather was VERY hot and a few times I had to hold up the game to allow the on-deck batter to safely get over to the on-deck circle on the other side of the field. This (coupled with other game-slowing behavior) was starting to irritate me since I am accustomed to High School ball that I have more control moving the game along more quickly.

It has everything to do w/ the OP. Read it again.

Both baseball and fastpitch softball (NFHS, NCAA, OBR, ASA, and USSSA) require the on-deck batter to use his/her team's on-deck circle if he/she is going to use an on-deck circle to warm-up. The reason is that the on-deck batter should be under the superversion of his coaches and keeps him/her away from the oppossing team.

MTD, Sr.

Citation please. I'm not disagreeing with you but I cannot find this requirement in OBR. The closest I can find is prohibiting due to safety concerns or game expediency reasons.

The problem is that all books recommend 37 feet from HP, based upon a field similar to MLB baseball, which is seldom the case for most youth ball. Most fields that youth ball plays on do NOT have a 60 ft backstop distance. Therefore the ondeck circle is usally closer and at a more direct angle than normal.

To not allow a player to be in a safer location because of this is just being way too OOO. Maybe you should be going after the parks Dept. director, Mayor or local officials but, heavens sake, we should all use some common sense here.