USSSA Injured Player Re-entry

[dkissane319]

Alright guys, playing during league night last week we came across this situation. It did not impact the game because we won but just curious on the ruling in future. Top of the 4th second baseman on the home team gets hurt. They only have ten guys so they play with 9 after he says he cannot return. When his spot comes up in the line up the rest of the game he is recorded as an out (this happens twice). In the bottom of the 6th we are up by two with bases loaded. He is on deck so we choose to walk the guy before him to get to the out and stop the bleeding. All of a sudden he can now hit and up to the plate. The next inning they are still only fielding 9 because he can't walk. He also then comes up to bat in extra innings.

My question is after leaving a game for an injury can the injured player return as a sub for himself to only hit and not play the field? I know there is no benefit for him to not play the field but just curious on the ruling because both umps said it was okay and it did not seem correct.

Thanks

 

[BretMan]

I don't work USSSA ball so I'm not even going to venture a guess on this. Especially since two of the sanctioning bodies I do call games for have two completely opposite rulings!

In high school softball an injured player may return to the line-up. In ASA softball they may not. At least that's what our state director of high school umpires- who also happens to be on the ASA national umpiring staff- is telling us. I don't believe that either one directly addresses this in their rule books. Rather this is what's been handed down to us as "official interpretations".

I'd be surprised if USSSA addresses this either. Maybe some of the U-Trip guys here know for sure.

 

[dkissane319]

I don't work USSSA ball so I'm not even going to venture a guess on this. Especially since two of the sanctioning bodies I do call games for have two completely opposite rulings!

In high school softball an injured player may return to the line-up. In ASA softball they may not. At least that's what our state director of high school umpires- who also happens to be on the ASA national umpiring staff- is telling us. I don't believe that either one directly addresses this in their rule books. Rather this is what's been handed down to us as "official interpretations".

I'd be surprised if USSSA addresses this either. Maybe some of teh U-Trip guys here know for sure.

Thanks Bretman. My thinking is a safety issue. This guy could barely walk and when he did hit it he put it in the outfield and we got the force out at first because he could not make it down there. I think his team put winning the game over his health and it almost worked.

 

[MaverickAH]

Re-entry of a starting player is allowed in USSSA. It would definitely apply in your case of an injured player. I could find no rule that specifically mandates a player be on the field for defense in order to remain in the game.

See Rule 5, Sec. 4 & 5


One could also argue that technically, he never left the lineup since he was never officially substituted for. He merely didn't report for his AB's & was called out.

 

[dkissane319]

Re-entry of a starting player is allowed in USSSA. It would definitely apply in your case of an injured player. I could find no rule that specifically mandates a player be on the field for defense in order to remain in the game.

See Rule 5, Sec. 4 & 5


One could also argue that technically, he never left the lineup since he was never officially substituted for. He merely didn't report for his AB's & was called out.

Thanks Mav. I was also thinking that was he considered substituted for because no one ever replaced him he just did not come up to at bat or field?To your point of re-entry if he came in to hit in the bottom of the 6th did not play the field and came to hit in bottom of 8th would that be considered two re-entry or one because playing the field has no standing on subs?

Thanks

 

[BretMan]

Okay, I said I'm not a U-Trip umpire, but did recall that their case book is published on-line.

Case Play 5-7 seems to indicate that an injured player, once removed from the game, may NOT re-enter.

[ame]http://www.usssa.com/docs/2015/2015CaseBook.pdf[/ame]

 

[EAJuggalo]

The injured player should not have been allowed back in the game. As soon as he failed to take the field, or left the field he should have been considered out of the game. At that point they are playing under the shorthanded rule and are taking an out in the vacant spot in the order. Even if the umpire allowed a re-insertion of the player into the lineup when he failed to take the field he was removed from the game a second time and would be ineligible to play after that. Locally, we would have allowed the team to collapse the lineup to 9 without penalty for an injury but he would not have been allowed at the plate unless he was playing the field.

 

[Taprootgft]

Maybe it was just an oddball league that I was in at the time (it wouldn't shock me) but is there an official rule on walking a player to get to the automatic out? I remember games in a league where we were advised that if you walk the batter in front of the automatic out it skipped the out. Might have just been a local rule in a league. Haven't heard of it since, though it hasn't occurred in any of my leagues since.

 

[BretMan]

Some sanctioning bodies say you can't walk a batter to get to the auto out, some allow it. Depends on which rule set you're playing under.

 

[jsam21238]

NSA you may not...

 

[EAJuggalo]

USSSA you absolutely may walk to get to the auto out. Specifically allowed in the rule book.

 

[dementeddj]

according to rule 5, section 5 the rule states that re-entry is permitted once in all USSSA programs by any of the starting players, provided that the player resumes his position in the batting order lineup. it goes on to state that it must be notified to ump & scorekeeper at time of re-entry, however there is no penalty for an improper re-entry.Hope that answers your question