No Advantage - Spirit of the Rule

[RadioBlue]

I just got this from one of my college assignors. It is an approved NCAA ruling from Dee Abrahamson:

Rule 12, Section 21.6.3 Runner on first base following a single. The pitcher has possession of the ball in the circle when:
1) with only a single foot on the base, the runner lifts it off the base to clean off the bottom of her cleats, thus breaking contact with the base. She does not attempt to advance. Because there is no advantage gained, should the umpire ignore the violation?
No, the runner should be called out unless she asked for and was granted time by the umpire.

2) the runner walks off the base to groom the dirt area she churned up as she ran out her single. She does not attempt to advance, so should the umpire ignore the violation?
As in the earlier situation, the runner should be called out unless she asked for and was granted time by the umpire.

In both these cases, the umpire should enforce the rule without assigning intent of the runner or whether or not a significant advantage is gained. It is much cleaner to call all aspects of the game based on the objective actions that are displayed rather than to try to assign value or intent and then decide if the action warrants a penalty. For some, that might seem "nitpicky" but it does provide predictable, consistent application of the rules without having to judge intent OR whether or not a "real" advantage is gained. That said, it is good preventative umpiring to anticipate these possible actions. For example, if the area around the base is churned up at the conclusion of play, the umpire can signal "time" in anticipation of the player’s desire to smooth the ground. If the player simply walks off the base without requesting time, you have no violation as time is already called. Bottom line, however, is that players are responsible for adhering to the playing rules and the NCAA Softball Rules Committee does not favor the slippery slope of encouraging umpires to ignore rule violations when they think there is no intent to violate the rules or conversely penalize players only when it is apparent that they intentionally violated the rules.

Additional remark-- the Umpire’s Manual contradicts this intent of the committee. Specifically, on page 112 of the Umpires Manual, under preventative umpiring, the text says do NOT penalize a player who, while dusting herself off, loses contact with the base. Since the runner has no thought of attempting to advance to third, simply call time because no real or perceived advantage is given to either team.