New Rule Should Be

[stv]

New rule should be Outfield fence shall be continuous. If access is needed beyond, then fence should re mane continuous by allowing a over lap of fence. _____________
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Tired of seeing ground rule doubles cost girls extra bases because Tournaments leave these gaps open at the ends, only taking the fence to the foul line. Keep the Ball in Play
It doesn't seem like a big deal when most tournaments use those white movable fences. They just need to take it to the fence line and leave a gap to allow for warm up area if needed.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Suck it up stv, as long as its the same for both teams, equal opportunities abound! But your concern does remind me of truly heinous injustice - I played a game on July 5th many years ago. The OF fence was a snow fence and the LF-LCF section were removed for the 4th of July municipal fireworks show and had not been replaced before the left fielder drifted 15 feet over and behind the remaining fence in LCF/CF and turned my HR into a routine F8. As terrible as this was, I can confirm that the game, and life, did go on.

 

[MTR]

It doesn't seem like a big deal when most tournaments use those white movable fences. They just need to take it to the fence line and leave a gap to allow for warm up area if needed.

I'm sure the teams will be more than willing to accept your donation to help pay for the additional fencing you believe necessary.

 

[David Carter]

or you could just be stuck playing on an adult field with 280-300ft fences. It is a win some lose some deal; 220ft fly ball can be outs and line drives to gap can be inside the park HRs.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I guess we are lucky, locally we have real dementional fields with permanent chain fences. Now some are 8-10 feet tall so it does take a tad more to go yard. Our premier complexes within an hour or so all have permanent fences too. Once we tend to go further away is when I start to notice more temp fences.

Like others have said, it's fair for both teams with temps. Personally I don't like them just because they look cheap and it looks like we have to "handicap" the fields for girls.

 

[softballphreak]

There are a few schools around our area where a painted 200' outfield boundary would benefit the game. Anything past the 200' line on the ground is a ground rule double. Anything in the air past the line a HR, of course.

 

[dschreib]

Our HS baseball field had no fence. Opposing LF could play in a cornfield on the other side of a ditch and catch 400' fly balls from our best hitter, but a line drive over the 2B head that rolled into the gap and onto the blacktop at the school was a HR.

 

[CoogansBluff]

or you could just be stuck playing on an adult field with 280-300ft fences. It is a win some lose some deal; 220ft fly ball can be outs and line drives to gap can be inside the park HRs.

That sounds better to me. Isn't a line drive struck so well that it gets between your outfielders a better hit than a 220-foot fly ball? Not saying that I prefer 300-foot fences over 200, but I will note that fences weren't apart of the original rules of baseball (which beget softball). They became necessities for space reasons. I grew up playing softball in open fields. It brings back good memories.

 

[BaldNBeautiful]

I have to agree, I want to see the OF fence continue to the fences down the lines. I understand why it does not in many cases.
The talk of the different fences depths reminded me of a field we played on a few years ago in MS ball. There was no fence in RF or CF, the grass (which really needed to be mowed) and extended at least 300' in RF, maybe 350 in CF and gained elevation. LF was the interesting part: no fence, and a play ground (maybe 160' from home plate) an asphalt drive way, then a dropoff. I don't recall the exact ground rules that the PU explained, but a ball hit in the could be a GRD, a Triple, or a HR. Different rules if it was a grounder that got there.