Unnecessary or Useless rules
 

With all the discussions of the last two days over IFR and LBR and the mention of so-called cheap outs, I thought it would be neat to see what rules you thought were not needed in the game. If there is a rule that needs to be tweaked to be a better rule, mention that as well. Maybe you have seen a coach "abuse" a rule to gain a cheap advantage that the rule was not intended to provide. That would be helpful as well.
1. Cite the rule and the ruleset
2. Cite your reasoning for your opinion
3. If you disagree with a previous post, start a new thread
4. If you have further input regarding a rule previously cited, offer it.

No Interference on D3K NFHS
If the batter takes off to first when she is not entitled under the D3K rule and she draws a throw which advances runners, the call should be interference and she should be out.

I think THIS rule is unnecessary an will be ignored by all! :D :p :cool: ;)

I think the 3 strike rule is unnecessary.......

If there were only 1 strike allowed it would speed up the game

Speaking ASA.

In think the rules regulating the appearance of undergarments are unnecessary. Who cares if one kid wears a pair of white compression shorts / sliders and all the rest wear red? 3-6-B&C

Remember, it's not just kids and the word you are searching for is "uniform".

I think they pay attention to this due to this because you know as well as I do, if they do not, the "undergarments" could, and probably would, go to the extreme in quick order.

Truthfully, I think the whole concept of getting to run on an uncaught third strike is silly, and a relic left over from BASEball for gosh sakes, and left from a time when the players played in different spots than they do now. Drop the rule - a strikeout is a strikeout.

While I can see Mike's point - and concede he's probably right about the appearance deteriorating - I do not like being the uniform and exposed undergarment police. I don't care if sleeves are rolled up(I am glad they changed this one). I don't even care if shirts are tucked in. I don't care about the color of sliding shorts. But, for now, the books used the words MUST and WILL,
I don't like the safety base - teach the players how to properly play 1B and this one definitely is not needed.
I would like to see something in softball that matches the baseball "force play slide rule".
I would like to see a penalty for obstruction, not just the removing of the effect of obstruction.
Most of all, I'd like to see one set of rules, used by every sanctioning body - but that would eliminate the reason for most sanctioning bodies' existance.

Actually, I believe it is left over from Rounders. In the game which precedes baseball, the striker ran after so many tosses whether they hit the ball or not.

The difference is that softball is "considered" more recreational and in today's litigious society, it just isn't worth the risk.

I think we all saw the result of such a penalty in Fed until a couple years ago. Umpires just will not call it and the coach would teach it.I know it probably took you 20 minutes to type that line 'cause you cannot type while you are laughing hard :D

Mike,
With the flooding around here, I can't get anywhere near a ballfield - guess I'll just have to stay home & drink more beer. And that makes for some strange thoughts - what a time for a thread like this one to open.
Weather like this makes me glad my house is on higher ground.

NFHS 3.4 & ASA 4.6 Illegal Subsitution/Players...Put the penalty on the coach. They knew whether or not to put in that player, why just DQ her for listening to her coach?

That's a good point since wiping out lines sits a coach down

I dont like when we are required to judge "intent"..

If its good enough to be a rule, hold them responsible for their actions and make it a rule. Subjective "hunches" as to intent is basically a wild *** guess depending upon the acting ability of the player in some cases.

Not sure what you are smoking but pass it over here! It would also eliminate a lot of this forum!:eek:

Here is my 2 cents. Get rid of the dp/flex rule. A lot of coaches have no idea of how it works and unfortunately there are a lot of umpires out there who don't understand the rule either (as evidenced by the number of questions on this forum about it). This rule creates more problems than it solves. Play 9, bat 9 and use your substitutes. The game wasn't meant to be as complicated as this rule make it.

Ah, a silver lining! ;)

History 401 - D3K
 

Ahhhhh...a chance to be a history teacher.

In various games including cricket, rounders, variations of o' cat and town ball, runners can (and do) run after a certain amount of bowls/throws/pitches. Won't tarry too long on that point.

What we today call "balls" and strikes" evolved in the 1800s. You can look up more of this online (I'm sure Google would provide you all you want to know), but "ball" is an abbreviation of an order by the umpire to deliver the ball to the batter's preference. A "strike" was the order by an umpire for the batter to hit a properly thrown/pitched ball, usually called "strike the ball" in earlier days.

For the majority of the 1800s, the catcher did not stand directly behind the batter. They would have been killed. Hence, it was advantageous for a batter with one strike left to swing at a ball they could not hit because they could usually reach first base - especially back when it took as many as nine "balls" to be awarded first base (or, even earlier, an infinite number of pitches deemed unhittable).

As equipment evolved, the rule allowing a batter to advance on an uncaught third strike remained, even though the catchers were playing much closer to the batter.

(Note - the catcher's position is still very much evolving. You can look at photos from the 30s and 40s and see catchers in nothing more than a crouch, not a squat.)

This is very much a Reader's Digest version of all this, but don't want to bore everyone completely.

Going back a few posts...

The "force play slide rule" from baseball (most notibly NFHS baseball) is not a "force play MUST slide rule", which I think removes the litigious connotations of the rule.

The rule simply says that on a force play, IF the runner slides, the slide must a legal one and be directly at the forced bag, not in a direction that heads for a fielder making the play beside or behind the bag (ie: the rule prevents going away from the bag to "break-up" a play).

The rule allows the runner to stop, slow down, veer off or take any other evasive action to avoid the fielder. There is no requirement within the rule that a runner MUST slide.

In short, the rule is just like the softball rule, but with an added measure of safety to protect the fielder.

Is "directly at the forced bag, not in a direction that heads for a fielder" what you mean by "added measure of safety"?

Interesting you should bring this up! I have JUST picked up from my local library an interesting book called A GAME OF INCHES, which chronicles the evolution of that 'other game' step by step, telling the REAL stories behind the evolution of basebll rules and practices.....VERY interesting stuff!