Playing with 8 and ITB
 

ASA rules friendly tournament

I was not there, but a fellow coach had this situation. Home team is playing with 8, and B8 strikes out to end the regulation time limit with a tie score.

ITB rules are start with bases loaded and 2 outs. Since the home team's scheduled batter is the vacant 9 hole, the blues recorded an out. So, home team did not bat in their bottom half of ITB.

Next ITB inning, blues put B7 and B8 at third and second respectively, and left first open, and had B1 at the plate. Visiting team lost their complaint that the vacant first base should be recorded as an out since b9 slot was empty.

Do any of you have any rules guidance/experience when faced with ITB and the empty batting slot?

ASA 5-11-B: Just put the #8 batter on 2B.

First, they were not playing with the ASA tiebreaker rule; nor ITB, which is the same rule. In both of those versions, the ONLY runner placed on base is the ninth batter of that inning placed on 2nd. No one is ever placed on first OR third.

When playing shorthanded, if the shorthanded position is the last batter in the preceding inning, the batter who would bat eighth in the next inning is placed on second.

I cannot even begin to comment on the logic (or lack thereof) of the situation you stated.

Thanks for the rule. I should have checked my book first.

Verbatim tourney rules:

If a bracket game ends in a tie at the end of regulation play, the following will go into effect:
The last three batters in the previous inning will be placed on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd with 2 outs.

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I have never understood the logic of using this format as a tie breaker, and from my experience it extends the game 2-3 more innings.

What an idiotic rule.

What is the purpose of a tie breaker rule?

Hmmmm.... to break the tie?

How do you do that?

Hmmmm... score some runs?

Why, then, on God's green earth, would you start a tie breaker with 2 outs????

I've changed my mind... it is not an idiotic rule. It is an absolutely stupid rule.

Not going to get me to argue with this.

OK, rule sucks, but my interpretation, would be as follows.

Bottom of 8th, we have the 9th "spot" up, the open spot in the lineup, so that is a out being the third out.

Bottom of 9th, I put the last three batters on base. I read batters not line-up spots. So I would put batters 8,7,6 on the bases and have batters #1 hit.

I would not leave a base open at anytime setting up the tie breaker since it says last three batters, and we only have a out in the #9 spot since there is no batter. So how can you have it both ways. I would also not give a advantage, taking the force off, to the team batting only 8.

P.S. If you had started with 8, this should have been set in pregame.

Why not? :rolleyes:

I would agree with this interpretation. It puts the home team at a disadvantage, but that's what they agreed to when they dropped down to 8 players. Now, good luck getting the coach to see the light. I can hear him now...

"You're taking it away from the girls."

I nominate wade to deliver the news. ;)