Pony vs. ASA

[greymule]

Just finished a Pony 14u qualifier and realized that, contrary to what coaches and other umpires have told me, there are significant differences between Pony and ASA rules. For example, Pony treats batting out of order the way OBR does.

The Pony book is on the web, and much of it seems to be taken verbatim from ASA. And in the spirit of ASA, the Pony people have supplied many of their own typos, grammatical errors, and ambiguities. ("If the runner leaves the vase too soon. . . .") Pony has added its own modifications, though.

Can anyone reconcile this seeming contradiction regarding obstruction?:

Pony Rule 9-5-3:

If a baserunner is obstructed in a rundown, the ball is dead, and the baserunner is awarded one base beyond the last base touched at the time of the obstruction, regardless of the direction of the runner. Any preceding runner(s) forced to advance by the award of the bases, shall advance without liability to be put out.

Pony POE #28

When the runner is obstructed during a rundown, a delayed dead ball is called. If the runner is tagged out after being obstructed, a dead ball is ruled, and she is awarded the base she would have made had there been no obstruction.

(POE #28 is almost verbatim from ASA.)

I'm going to scour the Pony rules this week. But offhand, does anybody know any other key differences?

[blcump]

Wait until you get to the designated hitter rule. On one hand, it states the DH and DEFO cannot be in the batting order at the same time, but if the DH goes in to play defense for anyone other than the DEFO, the DEFO must assume the batting position of the person for whom the DH is now playing defense!!
Then there is the substitution rule which allows players who have no eligibility remaining to re-enter the game. (This one was created to eliminate forfiets, but can be quite confusing if you're not on your toes).

What would a rule book be without typos, anyway?

Enjoy !

[CecilOne]

I can add to this, but not until tomorrow as I am on my way out.