Official ASA Approved Changes

IRISHMAFIA

These have been approved by the General Council

Change Women's SP max fence distance to 300'

All adult SP except Seniors move bases to 70' - effective in 2013

Men's adult SP except Seniors move bases to 70'

Allow wooden bats made before 2000 to be legal without ASA stamp

Allowing Seniors to use 1.21 BPF bats

Clarify knob specifications

Clarify safety "grip" as opposed to "tape" and reduce the minimum coverage to 6"

Reinstate heating of a bat as a manner of altering it's characteristics

Change HR limits in Men's A to 10

Allows the BR to advance beyond 1B only if there is a play made on another runner or there is an errant throw.

Clarifies intentional interference with a batted ball a fielder has missed

AtlUmpSteve

Can you clarify the two changes to 70', please? Are they saying Men in 2012, then Coed and Women in 2013, or does the "All" in 2013 supercede?

Big Slick

AtlUmpSteve wrote
Can you clarify the two changes to 70', please? Are they saying Men in 2012, then Coed and Women in 2013, or does the "All" in 2013 supercede?

I was wondering the same thing. When does the Men's Masters move to 70?

As for the wooden bat issue seems a bit backward. Those made prior to 2000 are legal by rule. "Plays of the month" over the summer stated that those made after 2000 needed to be stamped. However, they are (and manufacturers are not stamping them). The new rule needs to make all wooden bats legal if they conform to all characteristics of a legal bat (weight, size, knob, grip).

IRISHMAFIA

AtlUmpSteve wrote
Can you clarify the two changes to 70', please? Are they saying Men in 2012, then Coed and Women in 2013, or does the "All" in 2013 supercede?

Yes, Men's this year, the rest of SP in 2013. Remember, 16" is not affected since they are considered their own division of the game.

IRISHMAFIA

Big Slick wrote
I was wondering the same thing. When does the Men's Masters move to 70?

As for the wooden bat issue seems a bit backward. Those made prior to 2000 are legal by rule. "Plays of the month" over the summer stated that those made after 2000 needed to be stamped. However, they are (and manufacturers are not stamping them). The new rule needs to make all wooden bats legal if they conform to all characteristics of a legal bat (weight, size, knob, grip).

The point there is that the manufacturers were told to apply the stamps beginning in 2000. Maybe it is a trademark or licensing issue, really don't know.

Skahtboi

IRISHMAFIA wrote
All adult SP except Seniors move bases to 70'

Men's adult SP except Seniors move bases to 70'

A little redundant?

NCASAUmp

Skahtboi wrote
A little redundant?

Men's adult SP will move the bases in 2012.

The rest of adult SP will move the bases in 2013.

This excludes, of course, senior SP and 16" SP.

tcannizzo

Any explanation as to why 43ft for 14-U was not approved?

AtlUmpSteve

tcannizzo wrote
Any explanation as to why 43ft for 14-U was not approved?

Because it wasn't proposed?

NCASAUmp

Seems that if the Chinese had a softball calendar, this was the year of the Slow Pitch.

There are 11 changes that Irish listed below, and 6 of those 11 are changes for SP only. The remaining 5 changes affect all levels of softball. Not a single FP-specific change.

I know a lot of players who will be happy with these changes. As a primarily SP umpire, I'm glad to see a bit of focus devoted to SP this year. The program has had some difficulties as of late, and I think these changes are all positive ones for the program.

NCASAUmp

In looking through the proposed rule changes, I noticed a peculiar change in the wording. On #9 (changing the safety tape to safety "grip" and reducing it to 6"), I noticed that it says that "resin, pine tar or spray substances are permissible on the Safety Grip region only."

Was this the wording that was approved? If so, would that be to say that players can spray their bats up to 15" from the safety knob, even if their grip only extends 6" from the knob?

NCASAUmp

Guess we'll have to wait and see. 🙂

Rich Ives

So what's this one???

"Allows the BR to advance beyond 1B only if there is a play made on another runner or there is an errant throw."

AtlUmpSteve

Rich Ives wrote
So what's this one???

"Allows the BR to advance beyond 1B only if there is a play made on another runner or there is an errant throw."

Slow Pitch with stealing, not allowing a walked batter to continue to 2nd unless a play is made by the defense. Standard double jeopardy play in fastpitch, not intended to be part of the slowpitch game when stealing was introduced to that game.

Dakota

AtlUmpSteve wrote
Slow Pitch with stealing, not allowing a walked batter to continue to 2nd unless a play is made by the defense. Standard double jeopardy play in fastpitch, not intended to be part of the slowpitch game when stealing was introduced to that game.

While I assumed this was a slow pitch only change, the OP did not state such.

NCASAUmp

Dakota wrote
While I assumed this was a slow pitch only change, the OP did not state such.

Yeah, some of the listed changes didn't make much sense until I cross-listed them with the list of proposed changes.

IRISHMAFIA

NCASAUmp wrote
Yeah, some of the listed changes didn't make much sense until I cross-listed them with the list of proposed changes.

Imagine that, someone thinking and doing a little leg work! 😀

NCASAUmp

IRISHMAFIA wrote
Imagine that, someone thinking and doing a little leg work! 😃

Absolutely! Didn't want to ask a question if I already had the answer at my disposal. Which is why I asked about the "safety grip region."

IF (and that's a big IF) that's the actual wording, then I read it to mean that players can add Tack 'Em and pine tar up to (but no more than) 15" from the safety knob. That is, after all, the defined safety grip region.

Maybe it was inadvertent, but that's what I see and how I read it.

IRISHMAFIA

NCASAUmp wrote
Absolutely! Didn't want to ask a question if I already had the answer at my disposal. Which is why I asked about the "safety grip region."

IF (and that's a big IF) that's the actual wording, then I read it to mean that players can add Tack 'Em and pine tar up to (but no more than) 15" from the safety knob. That is, after all, the defined safety grip region.

Maybe it was inadvertent, but that's what I see and how I read it.

Well, that is why members of the staff meet afterwards to review wording to make sure the change fits and states what it is supposed to mean. But as you have seen in the past, even though they try, it doesn't always work that way.

NCASAUmp

IRISHMAFIA wrote
Well, that is why members of the staff meet afterwards to review wording to make sure the change fits and states what it is supposed to mean. But as you have seen in the past, even though they try, it doesn't always work that way.

And... speaking of!

ASA JUST released the 2012 rule changes on their website. I think the final verbiage has been written.

http://downloads.asasoftball.com/about/pdf/2012%20ASA%20Playing%20Rule%20Changes%20with%20Comments.pdf

It appears that they again use the phrase "grip region." I interpret that to mean that players can put adhesive substances up to 15" from the safety knob, even where there is no safety grip present.