short handed rule, batting out of order

[Linknblue]

These rules are "blessed and approved" by city recreation departments....they ain't "umpire generated rules". We just do what our assignor tells us to do. It does make our jobs much easier when teams negotiate how they want to play a given game......when it comes to lineups.....and who can and and can't play w/o penalty......they even "unofficially" approved of non-roster players being allowed to play so the games aren't forfieted....the guys want to play and they want to get games in the easiest way possible............is it sometimes like playground play? Yes, but us umpires don't care...we just call balls/strkes and outs on dem bases.....

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by Linknblue

These rules are "blessed and approved" by city recreation departments....they ain't "umpire generated rules". We just do what our assignor tells us to do. It does make our jobs much easier when teams negotiate how they want to play a given game......when it comes to lineups.....and who can and and can't play w/o penalty......they even "unofficially" approved of non-roster players being allowed to play so the games aren't forfieted....the guys want to play and they want to get games in the easiest way possible............is it sometimes like playground play? Yes, but us umpires don't care...we just call balls/strkes and outs on dem bases.....

Nothing wrong with umpire generated rules.

Everything wrong with city rec dept blessed and approved rules. LRAMBF.

[Linknblue]

My guess is that the assignor wants the assignments and offers his advice but if the city wants to do it because the players want to do it........who'r we to argue? Some don't make sense but it is what it is for sure.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by Linknblue

My guess is that the assignor wants the assignments and offers his advice but if the city wants to do it because the players want to do it........who'r we to argue? Some don't make sense but it is what it is for sure.

Let me tell you why this is not a good idea. Local rules cheat the teams and do nothing but cause problems once they want to play elsewhere.

As a UIC at a 16U national, I had a coach (from OH) ask me at the manager's meeting why he cannot use 2 DPs and Flex. I simply told him that the rule book does not permit it. He told me at home, that was the standard and either no one caught it or it was permitted in championship play (which to coach told me it was). Now everyone involved in that national was the bad guy preventing this team from playing their game.

A few years back, ASA players were allowed to use any softball bat that wasn't on the ASA non-approved list whether it had an ASA certification stamp or not in the MD/DC area. After all, it was what the players wanted. Supposedly, they were repeatedly told that if they played outside of their area, the bats would have to be ASA approved. Well, sure enough some of these teams showed up at an ASA national and lost the use of many of their bats. One team ended up with just one bat for the tournament. And, of course, every bit of fault was laid at the umpires' feet as if they really had a say in the matter.

Considering the lack of intelligence among many players, local rules are made by and for fools