Acton Adult Softball League
Sponsored by: Recreation Department in Acton, Massachusetts 01720
Hosted by: GoDaddy.com

Rink Rats - O'Brien's Pub Continuation

Captains:
 
Thank you again for complying with the curfew at Elm Street field.
As you know, for the 5 years we've had AASL at Elm Street, we've had 
a hard stop at 9:30, and any time we violate this curfew, we risk 
violating a town ordinance that can affect our ability to use Elm 
Street field at all. Rich and I have zero slack with this rule but 
wish the curfew weren't in place.  We wish we could somehow strike 
it from Acton's books, and we wish it didn't affect game play.  But 
nothing would stop us from shutting the lights off at 9:30, and I 
hope every captain understood that from day one.  Sorry I had to 
enforce it, but those are my orders.
 
That said, we have a game to continue tomorrow before the finals. 
Rich and I have reviewed the AASL rules, the ASA rules, and 
communicated with two ASA umpires (tonight's umpire and the umpire 
scheduling coordinator) to help with determination. Here are the 
parameters for continuing the game:

 
1. Our league follows Amateur Softball Association (ASA) rules, as 
amended by Acton Adult Softball League (AASL) rules.  AASL rules 
override ASA rules when explicitly stated.

 
2. The game played tonight is a "regulation" game and it was tied 
when called by the umpire. Since this is a playoff game and not a 
regular season game, we need to play to completion. In this case, 
ASA rules, Rule 5, Section 3 F, states that "Games that are 
regulation tie games shall be resumed at the exact point where they 
were stopped." This mirrors information passed by Kerry Tomasevich 
and Mike Gilronan from other sources, including MLB and NCAA online 
rules. From my recollection, though scorebooks will help with the 
specifics, we were in the bottom of the 9th inning, Rink Rats had 
one out and a runner on first base.
 
3. When we get into player substitution issues, player schedules, 
etc., we can not rely on ASA rules as they assume "substitutions" 
and do not list gender rules that match AASL. For this, we rely on 
the following sections of the AASL rules: Rule 17 specifies the 
batting lineup. As indicated, the lineups continue as they are 
currently in your books, at the exact point where you were. Players 
who are not available due either to injury or individual schedules 
that prevent them from playing on Wednesday night shall be crossed 
out of the lineup, with no penalty. 

 
However, Rule 17 also states players may not bat in the 7th inning 
without having played previously. The rule clearly needs to be 
tightened for similar situations in coming seasons. Our 
interpretation for this situation is that players who show up are 
added to the bottom of the lineup (as in Rule 19 - tardy 
attendance), and because we have spanned days, it is entirely 
possible that new players arrive and the game may go on for innings 
more. New players are added to the bottom of the lineup, from the 
last position on paper (i.e., if you had 14 tonight, the new player
(s) start in the 15th slot) and then you cross out the no-shows as 
above. Players added to the lineup must get field time, and players 
fielding must be added to the order.

 
We assume that captains follow Rule 37 concering Good Sportsmanship 
and complete the game in that spirit.
 
We do need to start the continuation promptly at 7:00 PM.  Depending 
on how close this game ends to the normal 7:45pm start, we can allow 
a 5 or 10 minute break to allow Sit 'n Bull to have some field time 
before the game, and to acknowledge the importance of our 9:30 PM 
curfew.  However, if the game ends at or near 7:45, the Championship 
game must begin immediately.  In any case, the game must be played 
to completion, even if it means continuing the Championship game as 
we had to tonight with the semifinal.  This goes with both games, up 
to 9:30pm.

 
If you feel any points are not addressed or need clarification, 
please let me know. I will post this information on line tomorrow.
 
Thanks,
-Matt. 

Published on 8/18/2004 11:52:03 AM by Matt Murphy(murphy.matt@verizon.net)