Courtesy runners (USFA)

[CoachJ5513]

Championship game last night had this come up. (USFA) Having big inning with just a few minutes left. Rule states last batted out is courtesy runner for P/C if no subs.
Pitcher gets on, last batted out is catcher. Cannot ( or don't have to..?) use catcher for courtesy. Previous batted out is on deck, so can't use her. Previous batted out prior to her is fastest kid on the team, so I put her in. We score 7 in home 1/2 of final inning and time expires, we win 7-5.
Was this correct ruling?

 

[starsnuffer]

According to USFA rules it seems you were right, so long as the girl who batted immediately preceded the pitcher in the batting order. USFA has some very lax rules concerning extra players and courtesy runners. Most of the "courtesy runner" rules I've played with are tournament specific, IE not ASA rules. The rule is usually "one" courtesy runner per inning for either the pitcher or the catcher. Going by that you should have put the catcher in if you wanted to use a courtesy runner.

However, USFA rules state:

3004: Courtesy runners are allowed for pitchers and catchers.
The courtesy runner must be used prior to the next pitch
being delivered. Courtesy runner will be a substitute
player. If there are no substitute players, the courtesy
runner will be the last completed at bat. If the last
completed at bat is a pitcher or catcher, the courtesy
runner will revert to the batter immediately preceding her
in the batting order.
NOTE: For purposes of defining a courtesy runner, a
substitute is defined as any member of the team written on
the lineup sheet who is not currently in the batting order,
regardless if the player was previously in the batting order
or not.

So seems you did the right thing.

-W

 

[CoachJ5513]

Thanx! I was not feeling bad about it, but for future reference...

 

[BretMan]

This really sounds like a situation that the USFA rule doesn't specifically cover. By a strict reading of their rule, the proper Courtesy Runner should have been the on-deck batter. I don't see any exception in their rule that allows you to "keep going back" further in the batting order if that proper C/R is somehow unavailable. That may sound like a logical solution, but it isn't what their rule actually says.

While their rule book is on-line, I have to say that I've never seen or umpired a USFA game. Perhaps they have another rule or an interpretation that that covers this. Or maybe not. When this association first came on the scene a few years ago, their "rule book" was little more than a one page handout with a few generic rules listed, along with the directive that "any rule not covered here would be subject to the standard rules of softball".

That had to cause some problems! Who's "standard" rules? ASA? NSA? USSSA? NFHS? There are so many rule differences between those sanctioning bodies, covering so many different situations, that it would have essentially been impossible for their umpires to administer their games in a uniform manner.

At least they finally put some effort into publishing an actual rule book. What they came up with is a mixture of rules from other santioning bodies, with a good handful of their own rules that are unique to their organization thrown into the mix. Their Courtesy Runner rule is a good example. It has elements of the C/R from other associations, but is different enough that it's kind of vague in how it should be interpreted.

A few comments on their rule:

- As already noted, it doesn't really explain what to do if the player who should be the C/R is on-deck, at-bat or on the bases. Other associations that use the "last batted out" do and make it clear that how to handle that possibility.

- Kind of odd that they refer to the C/R as "a substitute", when C/R's are never considered to be "substitutes" with respect to the usual rules covering subs, such as re-entry rights. At least they define what they mean by "substitute" in this context- it's a "substitute" player, but not really a "substitution".

- A bigger problem is that they don't specify the C/R to be the "last out made" or "last batted out". They call for the "last completed at-bat", which is something altogether different! A batter can "complete her at-bat" not only by making an out, but by safely reaching base. So, the "last completed at-bat" would always be the batter who batted just before the batter who is now at the plate. And there's a good chance that batter might already be on base, not in the dugout!

So, to answer the question of what the correct ruling would be in a USFA game...beats the heck out of me!