2nd ASA Game

[Forest Ump]

Fellow umpires:

I have been doing baseball for about 5 years now. I'm going to do ASA FP for the 2nd time in the last week. Today I have the plate for a 12U ASA game. 1st game I did went very smooth I thought. I learned later that I had given the pitcher too many warm up pitches. I just went with what I had done in baseball. Can those that do OBR or FED baseball please provide some major difference between the two that I should be aware of. I'm looking for some pearls of wisdom that will stick with me. Thanks

[DTQ_Blue]

Know the in's and out's of the lineup system used in the Leagues and travel organizations you work. Some use lineups where everyone hits. Others may either use Flex/DP or DH/DP. These are very different rules and as you work more meaningful games you will have to administer them in competitive situations. I'm in my 4th year of calling softball and Flex/DP rule is one I have to relearn every Spring because the HS season is very short and then I'm working ball that uses other systems and I forget Flex/DP by the end of the summer.

Other big difference is the Look Back Rule. LBR is one where I have had to learn by seeing, and am still doing so. Unfortunately, LBR violations are rare enough that it takes a while before you have seen all the ways it can be violated. Be prepared for the "wheel play" where a runner is at 3rd and the batter draws a walk and just keeps going toward second while the pitcher has the ball in the circle. Perfectly legal.

I've noticed that girls at the age you're doing tend to stand on the base on defense making the runner go around them the long way. Learn to stick out the left arm and call obstruction. Learn the base awarding rules, some of the ones used in softball differ from baseball.

Some hardball umpires have been known to call "balk" in a softball game. Learn what an illegal pitch is. Rules differ between sanctioning organizations concerning where the feet need to be to start the pitch.

Learn which baserunning violations are immediate dead ball vs delayed dead ball. Former include leaving the base early and LBR. Latter include most obstructions. When runner leaves early, ball is dead and no pitch is called. The count does not change.

Learn the batters box dimensions on a softball field. A coach may comment before a game or at the plate conf that the box looks wrong. You look good if you can answer the question. It's 7 feet offset 4 feet to the front and 3 to the rear. I've showed up at fields where the box was offset in the opposite direction. I've showed up at fields where there was a six foot long box. If a box line is in the wrong spot, rub it out with your foot.

Unlike hardball, pitching plates get moved around on softball fields and some fields have multiple plates in the ground. Learn the distances to the pitching rubber. 35 feet 10U and 40 feet for the rest. I had a 14U game immediately after a 10U game where it was overlooked to move the pitcher's rubber back. We had 2 innings of superhuman pitching before someone figured that out.

[wadeintothem]

I do both OBR and ASA. Admittedly I am better at ASA than OBR rule sets.. but I do all right IMO.

Look, this is not baseball with a bigger ball. It is different in many many ways. From calls (dead ball/foul ball/time vs "Time") to mechanics (no pointing strikes etc), to rules (Look back rule) to pitching (illegal pitch vs balk). I couldnt just sit here and give you a quick list. Two different games. The first wonderful difference being 1 min/5 pitches.. and enforce it. This isnt a OBR 1 min = 8 pitches, 2 more to throw it down, a couple of scratches and self adjustments, a little gardening of the mound ... in softball 5 means 5 and 1 min means 1 min.. 5 pitches or 1 min.. if they lag, dock pitches (take it down after 3 warm ups).