Run Ahead Rule

[kcg NC2Ablu]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Don't believe in "protest fees". This process is part of the game.

What a protest fee does is eliminate the useless protests when the managers are being idiots ( i know imagine that ) and protesting just to screw around or be vindictive. If the umpire is unsure of the rule they should be requesting a rule book and PREVENT a valid protest. The fee if the umpire is wrong is returned to the coach if the umpire is right they loose their "deposit"

[BretMan]

I'm no fan of protest fees.

Filing a protest is a right afforded to the teams under the playing rules. A protest serves a purpose- righting a wrong against an offended team that shouldn't have happened in the first place if the umpire knew the correct rule.

It just kind of rubs me the wrong way that a team should have to pay extra to get the service they've already paid for and are entitled to.

The argument is always made that charging a fee helps to eliminate invalid, frivilous or unfounded protests. But if the protest is not valid, wouldn't it be summarily dismissed? In that case, there is no need to reschedule the game from the point of the protest and no need to schedule umpires to cover the resumed game, thus no cost involved for the league or tournament in securing fields or paying umpires.

So why charge for it? It doesn't cost you anything if it's dismissed and if it's upheld you return the money anyway.

If the protest is frivilous, the coach filing it will learn a lesson. And, if it is not, the umpire who misapplied the rule will learn something, too! This strikes me as a "win/win" proposition. Why not just follow the protest procedure as outlined in the rule book, which makes no mention of charging a "protest fee"?

Or else, maybe would could take this a step further. Want to appeal that checked swing? It'll cost ya five bucks! Can I check with my partner? It'll cost ya a ten spot!

I've always wondered why anyone would assess a protest fee. I can see it in our city leagues, because there isn't a person or committee on site to decide the merits of a protest on the spot, so there's paperwork to be filled out and people to be called, etc. But in a tournament, I could never see the need for it. Just call the TD or the committee or whatever, and get it done and over with.