Pinch Runer
 

Little League last night. Major boys, championship game. Team starts with only 9 players due to injuries. 1st inning pitcher takes a hard line drive to the upper hamstring (buttocks). Takes a few minutes to walk it off. Bottom of 1st same player is now R1. Catcher throw a rocket to 1st on an attempted back pick, which hits R1 in the thigh (bruise #2). A couple innings later same player is at bat and takes a fast ball off the fore arm. At this point he is ready to call it a night. Manager asks me about bringing in a pinch runner. I explained that the rule book said a pinch runner is to be a players not in the line up but does not address if a team does not have a substitute. As I was walking the other manger to explain things, the wounded warrior wiped away the tears "again" and headed to 1st base.

Any help about pinch runners when a team does not have any one on the bench? This has come up a couple times this year.

Can't have one by rule in this situation.

OTOH, if no one cares and the wounded warrior just needs to walk it off you can allow one because no one cares that it's not allowed.

A LL Majors championship? Maybe in your sleepy little township in upper New York would nobody care. But in my neck, the opposing manager would force the issue with extreme prejudice.

By rule 4.17, the wounded warrior has to keep playing. In LL, a team cannot continue if it has less than nine players, and when that happens, the umpires are required to stop the game and let the league's board of directors decide what to do next. The board can declare a forfeit, or it can allow the game to continue later when the team has enough players to resume. While other organizations may allow the previous player in the batting order not already on base to run for the injured kid, that is not the case for LL.

That's one of the things I like about sleepy little townships in upper New York.

We know it's only a game played by 11-12 year old kids.

And we're the home of the systems integrator for the Navy's Seahawk and for the next generation Presidential and Combat Rescue helicopters. IBM was born 10 mile east of here. Link trainers were invented 20 miles from here. There's another defense contractor in the same village that spawned IBM. There's a large presence of highly skilled and educated people in these parts. A well known Ivy League University is located 20 miles north, as is one of the best music education colleges in the country. The top university in the SUNY system is just up the road. We aren't as nearly out in left field as you might think.

Or upstate west New York.

Registered Mediums | Official Site for Lily Dale Assembly | Lily Dale, NY 14752 | Ph: 716-595-8721

Keeping the spirit in the game! ;)