Top Baseball/Softball Rules Myths, 2011 Edition

[Big Slick]

Originally Posted by TwoBits

I've heard the interpretation before many times (usually by parents screaming from the bleachers). I don't know how anyone can judge an exact tie at game speed.

I've had one, but it wasn't a thrown ball, it was a footrace to first after F3 fielded the ball. F3 and BR both touched the bag at the same time. It was the strangest play and apparent to everyone including F3, BR, me (as BU) and my partner (who could see it from about 45 feet).

However, I do want to raise another issue that just sticks into my craw (and to address some of the attitude raised about your list from the BB side).
[I guess I should use the [rant] tag at this point]
A factor why there are so many myths is that some believe that baseball and softball are the same sport. They are NOT the same sport. They have some similarities, and maybe the same objective(s), but they are two independent sports. Why not create a list of ice hockey/field hockey myths? Because they are two separate and independent sports.

Perhaps the biggest fallacy (IMO) is that softball is perceived as "girl's baseball." As many on this site can tell you, softball is played by girls, boys, men, women (and sometimes having both men and women on the field at the same time!) in four varieties of pitching (fast, modified, slow and 16"). It angers me when someone states "why can't softball rules and baseball rules be the same?" which translates to "I don't understand why softball doesn't use baseball rules, because baseball is so much superior." My reply to that is "I agree, I think the pitcher should be required to make four legal pitches for an intentional walk (FED rules)."

I appreciate when someone creates study material to help officiate any sport. However, a lot of confusion is creating by the mindset that baseball and softball are the same sport, and to "require" that officials must officiate both in the same season in one organization does not give the correct respect to either sport and its participants. My suggestion is to create two independent lists (as you can see by some replies that even rule codes within a sport do not agree on rules).
[/rant]