NFHS: Tagging with two stikes - foul ball

[Comp]

Easy to tell if it's a slow or fast pitch rule. Their rule book has completely different sections for each. Without even looking, I'd lay money that you're reading the slow pitch rule.


(Edited to add: Okay, I looked it up. That's the slow pitch rule. Fast pitch rule says that runners may advance on any caught fly ball.)

Bret, the section I posted was from the 2013 Fastpitch section of the rule book. I just downloaded the 2014 Fastpitch and found the exact same wording.

EFFECT: Rule 7, Sec. 8 (a-d) The ball is dead. A strike is called on the batter for each foul ball, including the third strike. Baserunners must return to their bases without liability to be put out. Baserunner may not advance on a third strike foul ball, including a legally caught foul ball, however all runners may advance on any other legally caught foul ball.

What are you finding in what you are reading that is different? I agree it seems to be a slow pitch rule and hard to believe they would have that much different of a rule from every other rule set, but I am seeing it in 2 versions of the fastpitch book I have.

 

[BretMan]

Alright, I see it now (on page 112). I'm thinking that has to be a mistake.

The reason I didn't see it the first time I looked is that the "EFFECT" you first posted says it's for "rule 7 section 8". But if you look at the fast pitch section, that "EFFECT" is listed under rule 7 section 10.

Look at the actual rule 7-8 in the fast pitch section. It is the definition of when the umpire calls a ball on the batter.

In the slow pitch section, that effect really does appear under rule 7-8.

Rule 8-3-d says that base runners may advance when a fly ball is caught- no mention of any special circumstances with the batter's count.

My hardcopy NSA rule book from a couple of years ago (when I was last registered to umpire NSA games) does NOT include this "two strike" exception.

All this serves to convince me that the inclusion of a slow pitch rule in the fastpitch section was an editorial mistake. NSA did totally re-do their rule book last year.

But...I can't prove that 100%. Maybe I can drop an email to one of my NSA contacts to confirm this.

 

[dpmde]

Ball is dead?

Sounds confusing to me. If the ball is dead after any foul ball, including the third one, how can anybody advance? I have to be reading something wrong.

 

[Comp]

Sounds confusing to me. If the ball is dead after any foul ball, including the third one, how can anybody advance? I have to be reading something wrong.

Because a foul ball is a ball that actually hits something in foul territory or is first touched in foul territory. A caught fly ball in foul territory is not a foul ball, it is a caught fly ball and the ball is live. There is nothing in the effect posted any different than any other rule set, other than a runner not being able to advance on a caught foul fly on strike 3. The problem is as Bretman has indicated, this appears to be an editing error by NSA where they have put the effects from the slowpitch section of the rulebook into the fastpitch section.

 

[BretMan]

Just got an email back from our NSA regional Umpire-in-Chief.

He confirms that this is a known editorial error in their rule book, discovered too late stop it from being published.

Their rule is the same as all the others- no restriction on when runners can advance on a caught fly ball over foul ground.

 

[Comp]

Except that they missed it 2 years in a row.

 

[BretMan]

Except that they missed it 2 years in a row.

Doesn't surprise me. Not to knock NSA, but you know that every rule book we deal with has it's share of weird editorial gaffes.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

So do you go by the rule book or not?

 

[Comp]

No you dont go by what is printed in the rule book when it is a known editing problem.

 

[Umpireernie]

LOL I am glad I only have to try to keep up with two rule sets.