Why aren't subs allowed for injured batters?

[Momo'sDad]

If the batter swings, it is a strike. Cannot be anything else, especially a HBP. A batter could swing, hit the ball off his/her fist over a 200' fence and it is still nothing more than a dead ball strike.

I've replayed it a few times in my head and the best I can come up with is that, even though there was a slight hesitation, the umpire anticipated the swing and decided to continue with that call, despite the fact that the batter stopped her swing. Umpire observed what she observed, though, and at 14-15 years of age, she wasn't going to get a hard time from me about it. When you break it all down, we merely disagreed about what she saw.

The league president got back to me and said he thought the last out could finish the at-bat. I looked through our rules of play and found the following:

e. The umpire (not coach or manager) must declare the player as an injured player, and this must be noted as such in the official scorebook.
f. If the injured player is a batter, the player who made the last out may assume the strike count so the “at-bat” may be completed. If the injured player is a runner, the player who made the last out may take her place on the base she has reached safely.

So, technically the umpire was correct by ASA Rule 4, Section 1 D (shorthanded rule), but was mistaken per our league rules.

What our league rules do not address, however, is whether the injured player would be allowed to return once she was feeling better, so we should remedy that in the off-season. In this instance, we benefited from the fact that she did not leave the game.

As for the foul calls on the bunts, I have instructed my player that she should've been called out, just so that she knows what the proper rule is in the future. But, she also knows that we do not call our own fouls or outs.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

I had a similar scenario last year. Our pitcher's fastball hits batter on leg who did not attempt to get out of the way and pitch was ruled a ball (count 1 ball, 2 strikes). Batter was injured on the play and could not continue. Plate ump said that the batter would be declared out if she could not continue her at-bat. After much discussion with the other manager, they asked me if I would allow the other team to have a subsititute batter to finish out the count. I agreed and we struckout the batter to end the inning. Why they appealed to me to "allow" a substitute batter is still unclear to me. It should not have been my decision but the ump's interpretation and enforcement of the rule.

 

[Momo'sDad]

I had a similar scenario last year. Our pitcher's fastball hits batter on leg who did not attempt to get out of the way and pitch was ruled a ball (count 1 ball, 2 strikes). Batter was injured on the play and could not continue. Plate ump said that the batter would be declared out if she could not continue her at-bat. After much discussion with the other manager, they asked me if I would allow the other team to have a subsititute batter to finish out the count. I agreed and we struckout the batter to end the inning. Why they appealed to me to "allow" a substitute batter is still unclear to me. It should not have been my decision but the ump's interpretation and enforcement of the rule.

Was that a rec game, too? Our UIC thought if the coaches had a quick chat and agreed that a sub would be allowed under the 'we don't really have an exact rule to cover this, but can we agree to handle it this way?' provision. Once I found the guideline, however, I did send it to him so that he'd be aware.

Our by-laws which govern the rules of play are rarely altered. Whenever the question about changes comes up, no one really says anything. The board could be in for a few fireworks this next off-season.

 

[BretMan]

Umpire observed what she observed, though, and at 14-15 years of age, she wasn't going to get a hard time from me about it.

Let me commend your attitude regarding this young umpire!

I do umpire training for a local rec league that uses high school-aged kids as umpires in the youngest divisions. Just like the players in the younger age groups, these umpires are new and still learning the fundamentals. This may be only their first or second year, but you'll run across some coaches and parents that seem to expect 100% perfection out of these umpires (or, indeed, out of any amateur umpire, when you won't even find that degree of perfection at the Major League level!).

Now, if they make a call that's wrong, then it's wrong. You should be able to civily talk to them about it and, if you do, maybe they will learn something in the process. We lose so many beginning umpires just because of the rude attitudes of adults, who should know better. Not too many teenaged kids are going to stick with something that has them being screamed at, intimidated and degraded by adult authority figures on a regular basis.

Thanks for going easy on the kid!

 

[SamG]

We were playing an NSA tournament last year and DD (at bat) gets smacked in the forearm. At least 1/2 the fans (me included) thought her arm was broken (based on the sound). PU ruled DD hadn't tried to avoid the ball, so doesn't get 1st. Needless to say DD was in tears and could barely hold the bat. We were only playing with 9 players, so didn't have an available sub. PU & BU conferred and let us get DD to the med tent (right outside the field), and have 5 minutes to try and treat her. After 5 minutes, DD goes back to bat, but could only try to bunt. She ended up bunting foul after 2 strikes. I was surprised the umps gave us the 5 minutes.