Dumbest Local Rule Modifications

[blue183]

Two Candidates:

1. - Local league, rec, 11U playing on a 50/70 field. Runner may lead off first base and third base, but may not leave the 2nd base bag until the ball leaves the pitcher's hand.

2. Local Tournament - same ages, same field size. No runners are permitted to lead.


Huh?

Can't we just play baseball?

[semper_fi_72]

Sometimes these rules remind me about how we played stick ball and curb ball when I was growing up in the streets of NYC.

[socal lurker]

Originally Posted by blue183

Two Candidates:

1. - Local league, rec, 11U playing on a 50/70 field. Runner may lead off first base and third base, but may not leave the 2nd base bag until the ball leaves the pitcher's hand.

2. Local Tournament - same ages, same field size. No runners are permitted to lead.


Huh?

Can't we just play baseball?

Usually I can figure out what a rule is trying to accomplish, but I'm bewildered by this one. Don't want pitchers to have to make moves to 2nd?!? Just plain wierd.

[Pete_Booth]

I do not care what the local rules are as long as they are spelled out. While the aforementioned rules appear strange they are clearly spelled out. There are rule-book rules that I pesonally do not agree with but they didn't ask for my opinion.

It's simple if you have a problem or do not like "house" rules then simply refuse the assignment. Most leagues have them in one form or another.

Pete Booth

[waltjp]

Originally Posted by blue183

Two Candidates:

1. - Local league, rec, 11U playing on a 50/70 field. Runner may lead off first base and third base, but may not leave the 2nd base bag until the ball leaves the pitcher's hand.

2. Local Tournament - same ages, same field size. No runners are permitted to lead.


Huh?

Can't we just play baseball?

Wasn't the point of moving to 50/70 fields to allow the kids to play "real" baseball?

[iamdabobo]

Many ages: if a base becomes dislodged, all play continuing toward that base is dead, but play beyond the base continues.

10U: runner leaving early is out, no pitch. Okay, I know this is technically a PONY interpretation, but I think it's insane that the batter is punished for the actions of the runner. I took away a home run because of this.

10U: Pitcher cannot receive the ball on the rubber. WTF?

Any age: the damn must slide rule. Yeah, sure, safety and all, but saying "must slide on a close play" doesn't work when, you know, he's 10 feet away from the base... This is one that the TDs really get on our asses about too. Avoid contact is already in the rules, and makes way more sense; just use it. (only exception i'm okay with: NFHS force play slide rule)

Any age: X-run rule. "Mister Tournament director, so you're telling me that the team that just scored 6 runs is supposed to tell me that they scored X runs so that we can voluntarily end the inning? Yeah. Okay. Good luck with that"

Bronco/PONY: Lead lines. (runner can't cross line about 10-ish feet past each base until the pitch passes the plate). Yeah, okay, I'll go ahead and stare at the runners' feet while I'm umpiring...

Bronco/PONY: Balk warnings. Just advance the damn runners; they'll learn faster that way. And for pete's sake, don't do the "one warning per pitcher" ordeal; I do NOT want to remember/write that down too...

Any age: "no free home." So if the ball gets caught in the backstop, you can steal any base except home? wtf? If the ball's stuck in the backstop on a pitch, you should ALREADY BE home--instead, you punish the runner on third for a wild pitch. Wtf. I don't understand why coaches like this one so much.

The overarching theme here is that organizations who call themselves PONY organizations (they aren't; they just borrow the rules) make up nonsense rules for little kids, when they'd just be MUCH BETTER OFF using little league rules, which I bug them EVERY YEAR to do.

Yeah, I'm not jaded or anything.

[heyblue26]

[quote=iamdabobo;142681]slide rule)

The overarching theme here is that organizations who call themselves PONY organizations (they aren't; they just borrow the rules) make up nonsense rules for little kids, when they'd just be MUCH BETTER OFF using little league rules, which I bug them EVERY YEAR to do.

Yes I see this all the time and at some really lower levels I may understand fully but as the youth move up in a higher level of baseball let them play the game as it is to be played. Also here the youth telling parents Mom we didn't play by those rules when we where in caliornia. Yes and Semper Fi for those that did play stick ball we did have our rules but It was pure fun.

[mturman]

One of our youth pony leagues (Mustang) adopted a stupid rule one season that essentially stated that all runners must slide at home...We voiced our concern over the idiocy of this rule but was not heeded at all...We were told it's a safety issue...

To make a point one of our guys really took it to the extreme (after which the rule was immediately dropped)...

Bases loaded, batter walks and the runner from third comes to the plate to score...At which time our guy called the runner out for not sliding

Talk about a sh-t storm...He had the rule with him in his pocket expecting it and showed it to them and shared with them the stupidty of the rule...The very rule that the coaches all agreed too...They got the message...Make stupid rules and you get stupid results...

At our next meeting we never laughed so hard...

Aloha,
Mike

[lawump1]

Originally Posted by mturman

One of our youth pony leagues (Mustang) adopted a stupid rule one season that essentially stated that all runners must slide at home...We voiced our concern over the idiocy of this rule but was not heeded at all...We were told it's a safety issue...

To make a point one of our guys really took it to the extreme (after which the rule was immediately dropped)...

Bases loaded, batter walks and the runner from third comes to the plate to score...At which time our guy called the runner out for not sliding

Talk about a sh-t storm...He had the rule with him in his pocket expecting it and showed it to them and shared with them the stupidty of the rule...The very rule that the coaches all agreed too...They got the message...Make stupid rules and you get stupid results...

At our next meeting we never laughed so hard...

Aloha,
Mike

I know I always preach on these boards and to others, "never take the sh_tty end of the stick." But, this may be the greatest "taking of the sh_tty end of the stick" I've ever read about.

[mturman]

Originally Posted by lawump1

I know I always preach on these boards and to others, "never take the sh_tty end of the stick." But, this may be the greatest "taking of the sh_tty end of the stick" I've ever read about.

It was a moment we will never forget...In some fashion talks about the stupidity of what is done locally always brings us back to this...

Aloha,
Mike

[iamdabobo]

Originally Posted by heyblue26

Yes I see this all the time and at some really lower levels I may understand fully but as the youth move up in a higher level of baseball let them play the game as it is to be played

I entirely agree. But if they already have their minds set to play non-baseball, don't reinvent the wheel. Especially at 9/10, where so few leagues play "real baseball," because honestly, that'd be a pretty big mess for in-house ball.

[cbfoulds]

Originally Posted by mturman

One of our youth pony leagues (Mustang) adopted a stupid rule one season that essentially stated that all runners must slide at home...We voiced our concern over the idiocy of this rule but was not heeded at all...We were told it's a safety issue...

To make a point one of our guys really took it to the extreme (after which the rule was immediately dropped)...

Bases loaded, batter walks and the runner from third comes to the plate to score...At which time our guy called the runner out for not sliding

Talk about a sh-t storm...He had the rule with him in his pocket expecting it and showed it to them and shared with them the stupidty of the rule...The very rule that the coaches all agreed too...They got the message...Make stupid rules and you get stupid results...

At our next meeting we never laughed so hard...

Aloha,
Mike

A wise man once suggested that the best way to kill a stupid rule was not to ignore it, but to enforce the hell out of it. This is an excellent example of both the theory and application of that proposition.

[heyblue26]

Originally Posted by cbfoulds

A wise man once suggested that the best way to kill a stupid rule was not to ignore it, but to enforce the hell out of it. This is an excellent example of both the theory and application of that proposition.

You have really made a very good point here and stated well as Mike also had stated in his post. Yes and when the coaches complain you can show them the rule in black and white. Just maybe they will all get together and change the rule. Thanks.