Short Hand Rule
 

Does anyone now what the ASA rule is for sort hand players and whether or not a team has to take an out or not. How is this determined
Currently my rules say
MUST HAVE 8 PLAYERS TO START THE GAME, THERE IS A 10 MINUTE GRACE PERIOD TO GET THE MINIMUM PLAYERS FOR THE FIRST GAME.
EXTRA HITTERS CAN BE USED, IF YOU USE MORE THAN 10 PLAYERS, YOU MUST FINISH WITH THAT NUMBER. IF UNABLE TO FINISH WITH ALL PLAYERS, AN OUT WILL BE GIVEN WHEN THE MISSING PLAYER(S) TURN AT BAT.

What about 8 players,9 players, Are out given if they are in the line up? Are they allowed to come in the game without an out?
I'm just looking to standardize this.

Here's a VERY simplified version of ASA's shorthanded rule. Do NOT take this as a rule citation. Please read Rule 4-1-D for a better understanding of the shorthanded rule.

You may start with 9, but you'll have to take an automatic out when the 10th spot comes up. You may not start with 8 (game will be forfeited).

If you're going to use the Extra Player (EP), you must announce it before the game starts. Once the game starts, if you don't have 11, you can't bat 11.

If you start with 10, you are required to finish with 10. If you start with 11, you are required to finish with 11.

If you started with 10, you may continue the game with 9 if a player leaves for any reason OTHER than ejection and no legal subs are available. An out is still taken when his spot is reached. You may not play with 8 under any circumstances.

If you started with 11, you may continue the game with 10 if a player leaves for any reason OTHER than ejection and no legal subs are available. An out is still taken when his spot is reached. You may not play with 9 under any circumstances.

If a player leaves the game due to an ejection, and no legal subs are available, the game is a forfeit.

It is perfectly legal for a team to walk (unintentionally or intentionally) any batter to get to an automatic out (some associations prohibit this).



Here's what one of our local leagues does, and this deviates HUGELY from ASA:
You're allowed to start a game with 8 players or 9 players. No automatic outs will be called for the "missing spots" if you started with 8 or 9. If a team doesn't have 8 players at the start of the game, or if during the game the team drops down to 7 for any reason, the game is a forfeit.

If a player leaves due to injury and no legal subs are available, he's out for the rest of the game and may not return, but his spot is just skipped (no automatic out will be called). If he leaves for any OTHER reason (ejection, picking up the kids from school, etc.), it's an automatic out every time his spot comes up in the line-up.

Does that make sense?

but is there any way to verify an injury? say a player is going to leave to pick up his kids. he can just say that he pulled a hamstring, right? (I mean, you don't examine him, right? :))

It doesn't have to be an injury. The player can leave for ANY reason, whether to bury his/her grandmother to pick up a loaf of bread for lunch. As long as it wasn't due to being ejected, the team can play shorthanded.

Oops... I misspoke there. Thanks for catching that, Irish!

Had local rules on the brain too much. :)

ejected = automatic out when his spot comes up in the order

pick up kids, bury grandmother, or buy loaf of bread, container of milk or stick of butter = no penalty

right?

No, ejected = game over, forfeit.

Anything else = out

No. Ejection and no subs available = forfeit.

Pick up kids, bury grandmother, leave to fight zombie invasion = auto out whenever spot comes up in line-up.