At least my team is good for a giggle and some case studies..

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by Robert Goodman

But he could've twisted his ankle on the way home -- by which i mean his actual home, not the one on the field! If a kid twisted his ankle playing, what's the difference whether he was doing something pertaining to the outcome of the game or not? Like somehow it's OK to twist your ankle if it could affect the outcome of a game, otherwise not? Why not avoid all twisted ankles caused by baseball, simply by never playing baseball? Or avoiding all twisted ankles in the park, by never entering the park? Or avoiding twisted ankles on the left side of the street, by walking only on the right?

It's possible that by being at the game a few more seconds by being in this rundown, the kid avoids getting hit on the way out of there by a car that was at a certain place at a certain time. Or the reverse, getting hit because he was there slightly longer when he would otherwise have missed the accident.

The umpire's call or lack of one did not make the day any more or less dangerous for anyone.

Wow. Lemme guess: you'd allow a pitcher to deliver a pitch when the batter is digging into the box with his head down.

I have no problem with scrounge's position when it comes to little tikes like what you find in LL Minors. Umpires have as much responsibility as other game officials to err on the side of safety with players that age.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by Manny A

Wow. Lemme guess: you'd allow a pitcher to deliver a pitch when the batter is digging into the box with his head down.

No, because that produces a danger that is greater than the ordinary play of the game. A rundown, however, is just common baseball, and is no more dangerous to kids whether they're doing it as part of a baseball game or just for its own fun.

From the logic of the post I was replying to, it seems that baseball is being treated by adults as an extraordinary danger to children that is to be allowed only by the fact that score is being kept. The kids, by contrast, probably see baseball as an excuse to run around and have fun which produces some numbers as a byproduct.