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My wife broke her bat last year. It was the Mizuno Wrath Extended, 34 " 26 Oz. I want to get her a replacement and I know they don't make them anymore but does anyone know of a bat that would be the most similar is load and pop? She is playing co-ed Slow pitch softball here in Ireland so...

Do any of the ASA qualified umpires on here have a problem with the below? I did not see it but have had it described to me. Pitcher comes to a stop, both feet on the pitchers plate. He is facing the batter. His hand is under the ball and it is held forward of his hip. He then windmills the...

I would like your opinion on the following situation: 1 Out, runner on 3rd and the ball is hit on the ground to the third base player. The runner on 3 steps off 3rd towards the 3rd base player (and 2nd) to try to draw the play. The 3rd base player ignored him and threw to 1st for the...

I called out to a local league game last night. My old team was playing and I thought I would just wish them well and watch for a short while. Imagine my surprise when I see two "Umpires" behind the plate. The quote marks are for a number of reasons. The front plate umpire was in jeans, no...

Ok umpires. I am a slow pitch umpire and so some of the fast pitch mechanics escape me but in the linked video can I ask a couple of questions. Don't get me started on the "Wearing a camera on the field" bit because that is just wrong in my opinion. Posting the video publically deserves a...

I want to open a discussion about the Foul Tip rule. I understand that it's one of those things that some people cannot get right and others cannot understand why people get it wrong. In ASA the definition of a foul tip is (Drawn from the 2012 book): A batted ball that goes sharply and...

I know there is a tendency for ASA not to get into what if questions but I had a near miss to something and wanted to open up an umpire discussion. A batter stands into the box and he has a habit of holding the bat horizontal in front of him until the pitch is on it's way. He then brings the...

As the majority of the people on here seem to be from the USA I thought I would share this video of some of our European Softball Federation umpires at work at the recent championships in Prague in the Czech Republic a couple of weeks ago. http://youtu.be/C7rQPbF_j9Q

I was chatting to a couple of ASA umpires last week and one of the things that came up is that they allow a runner on first to start on the orange, especially with a left hander at bat. I though that the orange part only existed for the batter runner advancing to first and not for any other...

One out, runner on 1st and 2nd. Batter hits a long fly ball almost to the fence. Runner on 2nd starts to advance but then turns to retreat as they think there will be a catch. Runner on first goes for it. The fielder misses the catch and the ball bounces over the fence (in fair territory) and as...

No one on and no one out. Batter hits a shallow out field hit that is not caught. They run and turn at 1st to look if they could squeeze a double out of it. As they round 1st the 1st baseman steps into the batter runner and trips them up. The ball is thrown to the 1st baseman who tags the batter...

I am having a senior moment. Last night I was watching a game when the batter hit a line drive that was going to pass between the 3rd base and the 3rd base player. He desperately swiped at it and ended up deflecting the ball over the dead ball line. The batter was awarded 2 bases by the umpire...

A debate has just opened up over here in Ireland. We only play co-ed slow pitch softball under ASA rules. Players here have started to suggest that we should switch to plate mats for determining strikes and balls. I want to know from those of you who use them or have used them what your...

Rule change for ASA. Rule 7 Section 2D [2]: If batting out of order is discovered after the incorrect batter has completed a turn at bat: a. The improper batter’s time at bat is negated. b. The player who should have batted is out. c. Any advancement or score of a runner as a result of...

Out of curiosity what are the qualification levels you have in your area / region or country for Umpiring? In Europe (ESF) if you attend the training course and pass the course, including an exam, practical assessments and in class assessments you get a "D license" to umpire at tournaments...

Have any of you umpired at the World Police and Fire games? If so what was the standard of play like? What was the on-field discipline of the players like? What was the standard of umpiring like? I will be the UIC for the 2013 games in Belfast and I want to get an idea of what to expect...

Runners on 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Two outs. The batter hits a ground ball that hits the third basemans glove and dribbles away. All runners go and the third base player picks up the ball and comes back to the 2-3 line and tags the runner coming in to 2nd. The runner from 3rd base touches home before...

Ok, it's advised to get a pen and paper and a fresh cup of coffee before reading this one. This is ASA Co-ed and the courtesy runner mentioned is a local adaptation. One team has made a change to their batting order AFTER providing it to plate blue and the other team. Correct ...

In recent weeks my umpires have reported seeing more and more players wearing these shoes: http://​www.vibramfivefingers.com/​index.htm I personally do not consider them viable for play but many of my umpires feel that it goes back to player responsibility. If they want to wear them then...

A runner safely gets to third base but has to retreat back towards 2nd as the runner in front of them needs the bag as the ball has gotten to home. The runner retreating to third goes out of the base path and is called out and the catcher starts running towards the runner between 2nd and 3rd...