Scoring question

[CoogansBluff]

Earlier this year, I discovered something that I didn't know about scoring - the fact that if a batted ball hits a baserunner, the batter is credited with a hit if the scorekeeper feels that the ball would've gone for a hit if not for the runner.

Situation from Sunday - Runner on first. Ground ball that forces the second baseman to go to her right. She fields it, but the attempt forces her to fall over, and her throw (from a seated position) is late to first. That's a hit - except that the umpire rules that the baserunner skipped or jumped over the groundball, which he said is an automatic out in USSSA. What would you rule? For one thing, I've never heard of this rule. He suggested that it was a USSSA-specific rule. For the scorekeeper, I guess it's a judgment as to whether the fielder truly was hampered by the jump because under the rules, it doesn't matter whether she was hampered. The act of jumping over the grounder is what made it an automatic out, regardless of whether the fielder was bothered by it.

 

[JoeKC]

I just re-read section 18 ("Any runner is out when:") of the current version of the USSSA rule book (see link) and am not able to locate the rule in question. It sounds to me like the Umpire got it wrong, and the correct scoring (in my opinion) would be an infield base hit.

http://www.usssa.com/usssa/usssa-general/2013FPRules.pdf

 

[Sweet Lou]

Softball scoring may differ from baseball scoring but in baseball the batter is always credited with a hit in that situation.

 

[4 girl's dad]

What is the runner supposed to do? Run into the ball? Not sure I understand this ruling.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Softball scoring may differ from baseball scoring but in baseball the batter is always credited with a hit in that situation.

Not sure what you mean by 'that situation.' I assume you mean cases in which the scorekeeper thinks all runners would have been safe except for a baserunning 'violation,' which JoeKC points out isn't even a violation according to usssa rules. But the violation is equated with interference, then technically I might think it couldn't be a hit. Another question is whether interference is called only when the umpire believes an out was possible.

 

[CoogansBluff]

SL - I now think you are correct. Here is the NCAA rule -

A base hit is credited to a batter when she advances to a base
safely:

14.3.12 If the official scorer judges the batter would have
earned a base hit had runner interference not occurred

 

[JoeKC]

CoogansBluff,

I just re-read the original post and would like a clarification. Did the umpire rule the base runner was out or did he rule the batter is out because the runner "jumped" over the ball while the ball was en route to the second baseman?

Either way, I believe the runner advancing from first base should be safe at second (assuming she stopped there), and the batter safe at first with an infield base hit. This is all assuming the runner did not come in contact with the batted ball when she "jumped" or "skipped" over the ball as it passed.

 

[Sweet Lou]

Not sure what you mean by 'that situation.' I assume you mean cases in which the scorekeeper thinks all runners would have been safe except for a baserunning 'violation,' which JoeKC points out isn't even a violation according to usssa rules. But the violation is equated with interference, then technically I might think it couldn't be a hit. Another question is whether interference is called only when the umpire believes an out was possible.

In baseball the scorer simply doesn't have discretion, at least not that I've ever seen. If the runner is out because of being struck by the ball or interfering with the fielder the batter is awarded 1st base and credited with a single.

The official scoring rules may be written differently so that a fielders choice may be awarded to the batter in softball.

 

[CoogansBluff]

CoogansBluff,

I just re-read the original post and would like a clarification. Did the umpire rule the base runner was out or did he rule the batter is out because the runner "jumped" over the ball while the ball was en route to the second baseman?

Either way, I believe the runner advancing from first base should be safe at second (assuming she stopped there), and the batter safe at first with an infield base hit. This is all assuming the runner did not come in contact with the batted ball when she "jumped" or "skipped" over the ball as it passed.

The umpire waited until the play was over and says, 'Runner on second is out. There is a rule in USSSA that calls for an automatic out if a runner jumps or skips over a batted ball.' The ball did not hit her. Sounds like you have ruled out that this is a USSSA rule, so the umpire is either wrong, or this particular tournament or state has a special rule (which I kinda doubt).

 

[SoCal_Dad]

In baseball the scorer simply doesn't have discretion, at least not that I've ever seen. If the runner is out because of being struck by the ball or interfering with the fielder the batter is awarded 1st base and credited with a single.

You're correct on runner struck by ball, but incorrect on interference. From Official Baseball Rules (see pages 93-94http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2013/official_baseball_rules.pdf):

(a) The official scorer shall credit a batter with a base hit when:
(5) a fair ball that has not been touched by a fielder touches a runner or an umpire, unless a runner is called out for having been touched by an Infield Fly, in which case the official scorer shall not score a hit;

(b) The official scorer shall not credit a base hit when a:
(5) runner is called out for interference with a fielder attempting to field a batted ball, unless in the scorer’s judgment the batter-runner would have been safe had the interference not occurred.