NSA Rule Interpretation re: Intentionally Dropped Ball

[greymule]

I don't like ASA's rule that allows a fielder to guide the ball to the ground. In actual games, however, this seems to occur very rarely, even at the top levels where fielders know how to grab every advantage. In fact, the only time I ever had to deal with this situation was in reverse. In a SP tournament I was overseeing, F3 knocked a liner down with a closed glove and began a try for a double play. The PU called an intentional drop, but nobody contested the call. I had to inform the umpire later that what F3 had done was legal.

It is true that in codes that allow a fielder to let a catchable ball drop (apparently every code but NSA), a fast-thinking fielder might turn what looks like an easy catch into a double play. I've seen a very few cases in MLB where with a runner on 1B an infielder deliberately traps a soft liner that he could have caught. In those rare cases, maybe the defense deserves the DP.