ASA going to 2nd base on a walk

[east bay j]

Interesting discussion came up this evening over beers. Apparently in fast pitch softball if there is a runner on 3rd & the batter is walked it is common strategy for the batter to round 1st base & go to 2nd in an attempt to get the pitcher throw it to 2nd & have the runner on 3rd try to score.

Can this be down in either ASA or USSSA slowpitch softball?

 

[BretMan]

I don't know if I'd go so far as to call this a "common strategy". I guess it depends on the level of play. You might get away with this at the very young age groups or in a rec league, where the defense can't execute a couple of good accurate throws.

So far this year I've umpired about a dozen high school games and a couple of dozen travel ball tournaments. I think that I've seen this happen maybe once.

In slow pitch, the ball is dead on a walk so runners can't advance.

 

[NCASAUmp]

I don't know if I'd go so far as to call this a "common strategy". I guess it depends on the level of play. You might get away with this at the very young age groups or in a rec league, where the defense can't execute a couple of good accurate throws.

So far this year I've umpired about a dozen high school games and a couple of dozen travel ball tournaments. I think that I've seen this happen maybe once.

In slow pitch, the ball is dead on a walk so runners can't advance.

...unless they're playing slow pitch with stealing.

In that case, the only way the batter-runner can go to second base on a walk is if the defense first makes a play on another runner, or if there's an errant throw back to the pitcher from the catcher.

http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/News/2011/May/31/May-2011-Plays-and-Clarifications

 

[BretMan]

Nice catch! I'm not much of a slow pitch guy, but it figures there are some special conditions for slow pitch with stealing.

 

[sjury]

This common statagy doesn't work very often with older kids, as Bretman stated, and you really end up getting an out or two when the defense is one their toes.

 

[east bay j]

Thanks for the responses
I figured it would not be legal in slow pitch & I had never even heard of anyone doing it in fast pitch, but someone on my team brought it up.

 

[NCASAUmp]

Thanks for the responses
I figured it would not be legal in slow pitch & I had never even heard of anyone doing it in fast pitch, but someone on my team brought it up.

Happens quite a bit in fast pitch, actually. If you've got runners on 1st and 3rd, you can guarantee that the runner on 1st will almost always attempt to steal. Catchers are very hesitant to throw to second, because all the runner has to do is stop and get caught in a run-down to allow the runner from 3rd to score.

 

[Crabby Bob]

Happens quite a bit in fast pitch, actually. If you've got runners on 1st and 3rd, you can guarantee that the runner on 1st will almost always attempt to steal. Catchers are very hesitant to throw to second, because all the runner has to do is stop and get caught in a run-down to allow the runner from 3rd to score.

Saw two of those last weekend at 18U. One worked, the other didn't.

 

[mike88047]

Some ASA leagues will give a male batter second base if he gets walked with a female coming up.

 

[matt6195]

Some ASA leagues will give a male batter second base if he gets walked with a female coming up.

In co-ed slow pitch I have seen this. The OP is talking about fast pitch though.

 

[brees6221]

Semi-related cool story bro: In high school baseball, my coach told us to run to first base full speed on a walk, EVERY time. He coached third base and if he used our last name at all on our way to first base, that was the signal to round and sprint hard to second base, obviously trying to score the run from third. We spent at least 15 minutes of every practice doing this. About 2/3 of the way through the season, we had a guy on 3rd and our pitcher got walked and coach started yelling, "Good eye, Jones! Atta boy, Jonesy!" We all watched closely from the dugout, because we couldn't believe it was actually happening in a game. Poor Jones didn't hear the sign and the coach goes ape-sh** on him after the inning was over, haha.

 

[11B-33T]

I think the Slow Pitch w/Stealing rule is viable and would help speed up or equalize games. Some teams rely on their home-run hitters to run up the score. Other teams with line drive hitters and good ball-finding/heads-up base runners could nullify those big hitting teams with inattentive in-fielders. Besides, stealing 60' vs. 90' is alot easier to do nowadays!

 

[irishmafia]

I think the Slow Pitch w/Stealing rule is viable and would help speed up or equalize games. Some teams rely on their home-run hitters to run up the score. Other teams with line drive hitters and good ball-finding/heads-up base runners could nullify those big hitting teams with inattentive in-fielders. Besides, stealing 60' vs. 90' is alot easier to do nowadays!

If you are playing SP on 60' bases, you are more than a decade behind the rest of the world