intentionally dropped ball

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by greymule

I know that NCAA follows ASA on permitting the guiding of the ball to the ground. I assume Fed does the same, but I don't know for sure. There are a lot of softball codes out there, and I don't doubt that some call it differently.

Apparently, there is a belief that this is something that is easy to do with no possible down side. That is not true. There is little guarantee the ball is going to be controled after it hits the ground.

I have made this call a couple of times as recent as this past season. OTOH, I have also seen it botched more often than it being successful. The ball and the contour of the field do not always cooperate with the fielder. IMO, the "runner on 1B" requirement should be removed because if the BR isn't going to run, tough. And if it happened quick enough to turn a double play in that situation, the IDB had no affect on the play than if it were a trapped ball.

I'd also like to add that the rule, at least ASA, notes that to qualify as a IDB, it must have been able to be caught with ordinary effort. Unless a line drive is directly at the fielder, IMJ the effort is probably a bit more than ordinary.