Local Yokel Rules
 

Got some new local rules to chortle at this morning.

8U: “If a runner has crossed the line when the ball is returned to the pitcher and she holds the ball above her head this is considered control.”

So … by this wording… if the runner has NOT crossed the line yet, and the pitcher holds the ball above her head, it’s not considered control. OK, got it. :rolleyes:

10U: "Dropped 3rd strike is NOT in effect." A later rule: "In reference to third strike drop, the batter is allowed to run to first base only." Lovely.

And the old standard, "No head first sliding". Of course, no definition or penalty listed.

My favorite this time might be in 8U: "Hashmarks will be marked on the field halfway between bases. The SOLE PURPOSE of this line is to position runners when play is stopped. There is NO OTHER PURPOSE for these lines and they shall not be taken into account for any other reason." 3 rules later... "Infielders shall not take up a position closer than the hashmarks."

Then again ... none of these beat the rule I had in tourney last spring that I posted here. "Obstruction shall be heavily scrutinized by the umpire." Hey, look - obstruction. Let me heavily scrutinize that. OK, done. No ... no penalty for it. But I scrutinized the hell out of it!

Maybe they were referring to restricting the U3K that permits the BR to run to another base :rolleyes:

I've never heard of anyone sliding into a base head first. Hands first, maybe, but never a head.

LOL.

I SO want to steal this. Can you imagine the conversation on my first non-call on what would appear to be head first sliding?

Coach: "Why aren't you calling her out - she slid head first."
Me: "No, coach, she didn't - her hands were out ahead of her head - that was a hands first slide."

I don't have the guts for it though. I know it'll go through my head if it should happen. :)

local machine pitch league

"The ball is dead when the pitcher displays possession of the softball completely inside the 8' pitcher's circle"

a dozen of so 'rules' later

"The 'look back rule', is in effect."

:rolleyes:

That's almost identical the rule I'm going to clarify when I get there. Instead of ball is dead, it says, play is stopped. Which is even more confusing.

Obstruction shall be heavily scrutinized by the umpire.

FZ warned us about the "Central Scrutinizer"

This is the CENTRAL SCRUTINIZER...it is my responsibility to enforce all the laws that haven't been passed yet. It is also my responsibility to alert each and every one of you to the potential consequences of various ordinary everyday activities you might be performing which could eventually lead to *The Death Penalty* (or affect your parents' credit rating).

Paul

One local one that's caused some problems (and I've posted about before):

Double first base use: The defense may use the colored base on ANY dropped third strike play.

I've worked in a couple of local leagues that had something like this:

Runners may only steal on a passed ball.

By definition, it's not a passed ball unless a runner actually advances. Plus, if it's really a passed ball, then it isn't technically a stolen base. And what if it's not a passed ball, but it's a wild pitch (which is something completely different)? When I brought up the inconsistency of this rule, all I got was a blank stare.

One of my favorites:

Protests are NOT permitted. If a coach wants to challenge a rule interpretation by an umpire, he must bring it up before the next pitch is thrown. The scorekeeper will make a note of the score, runners on base, number of outs etc. The league will then make a decision on the ruling. If necessary, the game will be replayed from the point of the misapplied rule.

So, they emphasize that protests are not allowed, then outline a "challenge" procedure that is, essentially, the same as an official protest. :confused:

And heaven forbid that someone tries to explain it to them.

A league that my youngest daughter played in had a rule similar to the one Bret cited - There is no stealing, but runners may advance on any pitched ball that goes past the catcher. That put the umpire in the position of judging what was "past" the catcher and what was just "even" with the catcher.

This league also had the infamous "runners must slide on any close play" rule....:rolleyes: we didn't stay too long with that league....

i cant tell if you are joking or not

ive never heard anyone (players, coaches, scouts, instructors, announcers...) call it anything other than a head first slide.

Well, I've tried. That's been met with varying degrees of success...

Some of these leagues might do something as informal as hand an umpire a list of their rules and say, "Tell us what you think". Whether or not they actually change anything is kind of a coin toss.

Some just take the stance that "these are our rules and this is how we're going to do it"...end of story.

One large league near me really seems to give a darn about stuff like this. They email the league rules to their umpires before the season for critique and annually hold a couple of meetings with senior umpires to go over rule issues. Their board member in charge of supervising the umpires has a coaching background, but the guy is so serious about his duties that he went through the process of becoming FED certified just to have a better understanding of the rules and umpire mechanics. He holds several rules meetings for coaches and puts together a pretty good umpire training program for the new guys that work lower level games.

In that league, I have managed to get some of their local rules clarified or changed. But there can still be some "politics" involved. Any rule change has to go through their board of directors. There have been a couple where a board member had his own idea of what the rule should be and dug in his heels to resist any changes.

Yes you can...

You mean the same guys that think the hands are part of the bat, you are automatically out if you leave the basepath, someone must be out if two runners are touching the same base simultaneously, that if the IF touches the ball it is an IDB if s/he lets it go to the ground, etc.? :rolleyes: Yep, there are some voices of authority ;)

Just because someone refers to something doesn't make it factual. Of course, now we are back to the same people who think the MLB's championship is truly a "World Series" when obviously, it is not. :D

Think about it. When a player slides into a base, do they call it an "*** first" slide or a feet first slide? Just calling 'em as I see 'em. Have you ever seen anyone actually lead with their head into a base? :confused: If so, that must be one wild and crazy guy or gal!

You know... other than local time limits and rules around weird field situations... I don't get why it has become the default around the country that a league HAS to insert their 2 cents. Whoever you've joined (ASA, U-Trip, NSA, LL, whatever) has had YEARS to put together what is hopefully a solid set of rules. In ALMOST every case, the local rule causes problems at some point. The default should be to simply use the rules of your organization. Period. Heck ... half of your stupid local rules documents simply repeat a rule that's otherwise already in the book ... and likely word it more poorly than the original rule does.

Because everyone has to have their way or they are going to take their bat and ball and go home.

It seems there is an expectation by many in this country nowadays that companies and organization must adjust to the individuals demands and if they don't, by default, they must be the devil and unholy and unpatiotic, yada, yada, yada. I see it in my business all the time. And in my business, there is always some whore right around the corner willing to tell the customer they can have it their way, and no, I'm not in the fast food business. ;)

Remember what happened to championship boxing (is there still boxing) when all the alphabets started up because this manager or that boxer didn't think they were getting what they perceived to be a fair shake? Obviously, that didn't work out as well as each expected it and then came the peaceful "crown or belt unification fights". In reality, they have become not much more than a marketing ploy to make the respective promoters more money. Now, with all the graft, politics and everyone demanding their "fair" cut of the pie, championship boxing isn't doing much better than roller derby in many markets.

Softballers, including the seniors, seem to just want rules which allows the player to flex their muscles and feed an ego.

JMO