Scoring question

[chigolf]

When a fielder makes a throw to first and the throw is low and away from base but can possibly be caught by first baseman but is not. Is it an error on the throw or the catch or both. thanks

 

[CoogansBluff]

Error on 1 or the other, cannot be both.

Why did the first baseman not catch it? Was the ball in the dirt? Did the 1B have enough time to react to the off-target throw?

Generally, if the ball is not in the dirt and doesn't pull 1B off the bag, then it's E-3. But I'd want to see the play or get more information before assuming that in this case and would also consider the level of play.

 

[Softball scholar]

Really comes down to the judgement of the scorekeeper, and calling errors can be very subjective. For a general rule, If the ball was in the dirt and the 1b had to reach away as you describe, then probably sounds like on the thrower. If not in the dirt and the away throw was within reasonable range where 1b didn't have to come off the base, then probably on the 1b or scored E3.

 

[MNDad]

The sanctioning bodies have their own scoring definitions, but the standard for an error is generally “ordinary effort”. If 1B has to scoop, stretch or leap I’d charge the error on the fielder. Some situations depend on who the fielder is. SS throwing at the knee and 1B misses, error is on 1B. Pitcher throws the ball at 1B’s knee from 10 ft away and ball is missed the error is on P.

 

[canyonjoe]

When a fielder makes a throw to first and the throw is low and away from base but can possibly be caught by first baseman but is not. Is it an error on the throw or the catch or both. thanks

The words that are important to me are should and could.

If 1B should have caught it E3 if it's just possible that she could have caught it it's on the fielder.

For me at 14U I consider any throw that doesn't hit the dirt or is too high but is reachable without some crazy stretch one they should catch. As stated above there are exceptions such as the 2B firing one at the ankles from 15 feet away,etc

 

[SoCal_Dad]

The sanctioning bodies have their own scoring definitions, but the standard for an error is generally “ordinary effort”. If 1B has to scoop, stretch or leap I’d charge the error on the fielder. Some situations depend on who the fielder is. SS throwing at the knee and 1B misses, error is on 1B. Pitcher throws the ball at 1B’s knee from 10 ft away and ball is missed the error is on P.

Good points. I'll add some plays don't warrant charging an error. For example, fielder making an off-target throw on an extraordinary play isn't an error unless the runner advances beyond that base because of it.

 

[Eric F]

A discussion I get into frequently regarding 1B and C is about balls in the dirt. Yes, a good 1B is expected to be able to dig out a short-hop, but if they don't it's (in almost all cases) an E on the fielder that threw the ball. Likewise, a good C is expected to be able to block a bounced pitch, but if they don't it's a wild pitch (P's mistake), not a passed ball (C's mistake).