Simple Question -
 

Tonight I was working a Men's SP game ASA rules.

Runner on 2B. Ball hit toward F6 but hits the runner then bounces to F6 who attempts to throw the BR out at 1B (over threw F3).

I call time. Then call the runner that was hit by the ball out and let the BR get 1B.

Defense gets upset and tells me that I should call the BR out due to the base runners interference. I don't, BR stays on 1B

I'm still trying to understand SP softball, did I make the correct call.

Two parts to your question:

1. "Defense gets upset"

• Yep, you were definely on the SP softball field. They whine about everything... don't worry about that. :)

2. "I should call the BR out due to the base runners interference"

• The ball was dead immediately when it hit the runner (presuming it meets the conditions in 8-7-K of not having passed an infielder.)
• The runner is out if not in contact with the base and safe if still in contact with the base. In either case, the BR is awarded 1st base.
• Possible but I don't see it in your example: if you felt the runner was interfering in an attempt to prevent a double play 8-7-J could come into effect, with the runner and the immediate succeeding runner both being called out.

I think you got it right, except for remembering that there was officially no "overthrow" or other play at first since the ball was dead at that point.

Speaking ASA

Yes, the correct call, but it has nothing to do with it being a SP game. Too many people, including some umpires, believe there is another entire set of rules for SP than FP and that just isn't true.

With the exception of the pitching and limited base-running allowances (leaving the base on a pitch & LBR, for example), the rules are pretty much the same.

Yes, and not just for SP.

Well, that's not just SP either... but in youth FP, it is generally limited to the coaches, not the players. ;)

Thanks guys.
 

The ball hit the runner before passing F6. I thought that I was correct but I had several players arguing so adamantly I began to doubt myself but not enough to change my call.

The reason they were arguing the call is most of them don't know the rules. Most Men's Slo-pitch players haven't a clue when it comes to the rules. Also it's been medically documented that they lose 50% of their mental capacity when they walk on the field.:p

Wow! All the way down to 25% of their wives / girlfriends? No wonder! :D

Most Men's Slo-pitch players haven't a clue when it comes to the rules.

I can't count the times I've explained what we would all consider basic rules to SP veterans, even those who play on top teams. I had to explain once to a well-known NJ slugger—a veteran of thousands of games around the country—that in ASA softball, illegal pitches, not balks, result from improper actions by the pitcher. He freely admitted that he had not known that fact, and was thankful for the information.

As for the local leagues and business/co-ed teams, most of the players know less than nothing, though self-anointed experts abound. We all know the main softball myths, but from these players we could add:

1. The baseline belongs to the runner (therefore, a runner in the baseline cannot commit interference)
2. One base on an overthrow
3. A ball that hits the plate is foul
4. If the coach is in the box, he does not have to move for a fielder attempting to catch a foul fly
5. It is physically impossible for a pitch to land more than 18 inches behind the plate and be a strike
6. Runners cannot leave their bases until a fly ball is securely held
7. The umpire must grant a request for time as soon as the ball is returned to the infield
8. The batter cannot step on the plate after he hits the ball (as in running to 1B)
9. You must "veer or avoid" when running to 2B
10. One of my favorites: Abel on 2B, 2 out. Baker gets a hit and Abel scores, but Baker is subsequently thrown out at 2B. Abel's run does not count, because for Abel to be credited with having advanced 2 bases, Baker must also advance 2 bases. Yes, that's what somebody told me.

Oh, yeah—number 11—when a fly ball hits an outfielder's glove and then goes over the fence, it is a 4-base award only if the ball would have gone over anyway.

Think it out
 

Think the situation out.

Had the runner not interferred, would the defense been able to throw to third for the tag out then on to first for the force out? Probably not. So why then would you want to give the defense two outs here?

Second, lets say there were no outs here. So the defense just went from a 0 out, runner on second situation to a 1 out, runner on first situation. How was the defense injured on this play to justify the two out call?

You don't have to be a book worm on the rules if you can just think out the situations and find the injury and then who benefits or suffers.

You explain it like that to them, they will understand better. Although, that MAY depend on how much beer they have had up to that point.