Would you protest?

A

AreJay

Addicted to Softballfans
Men's league tournament. I'm watching after our game earlier in the evening.

Team 1 trots out about a 9-year old kid to play right field in the top of the seventh during a 21-9 game. Team 2 makes a comeback before losing to Team 1, 21-18. League rules say any player must have completed his junior year of high school to be able to play in any game. The other factor is Team 1 has been bending and breaking league/facility rules all season long (drinking in the dugout, swearing at each other from across the field).

By rule, the 9-year old was an illegal player. Would you protest under this scenario?
 
natedawg87

natedawg87

Baller
9 years old? I was still chasing butterflies back then...
simplejack_zps4625fdc9.jpg
 
P

pudds

Star Player
I wouldn't have let him stay out there for even the first play. I won't have any of our players responsible for injuring a child that shouldn't be on the diamond.

That said, I think playing out the game and then protesting is bad form. Stop it right away or live with your choice to let it go.
 
natedawg87

natedawg87

Baller
pudds said:
I wouldn't have let him stay out there for even the first play. I won't have any of our players responsible for injuring a child that shouldn't be on the diamond.

That said, I think playing out the game and then protesting is bad form. Stop it right away or live with your choice to let it go.
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^^Exactly^^ Kid that young shouldn't be in a game with grown men.
 
SmokeDK42

SmokeDK42

Addicted to Softballfans
Drinking and cussing in slowpitch softball is totally unacceptable...what is wrong with these guys...was the 9 year old drinking too?
 
P

pontiacfb78

Star Player
Yeah, the kid should not have been in the field. Chances of injuring him when he is playing OF is pretty slim though.....Team 2 should have just let the score stand. That's a pretty big ***** move. Seriously though, if you have to get down to the rules about drinking and cussing to say the team "has been bending and breaking league/facility rules all season long", your reaching pretty bad. Its softball. I've never been on a field where that stuff doesn't go on...unless there are little kids there. and that only stops the loud cussing.
 
DEJ13

DEJ13

Addicted to Softballfans
IMO it is the umpires fault for allowing an under age kid to play so forget the protest it is a HUGE liability issue. Most leagues allow you to play with 8...
 
66FLH

66FLH

Addicted to Softballfans
I'd be too embarrassed of losing to a team that has a 9 year old playing to even think of protesting.
 
Z

zuke 37

Star Player
protests must be made the moment it takes place. if the kid was not on the roster then he was illeagle. it was not a judgment call for the ump it was on a rule, you can protest

also another reason for a leagel protest is they are making a travisty of the game.
 
blldwg23

blldwg23

Coach
Joker said:
where was the ump and/or LD in all this?
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Yeah that's what I am wondering. If you are an ump even if your just a "shadetree" league ump you can't be letting 9 year olds play softball against grown men. That is just a disaster waiting to happen.

It should of never happened.
 
doG

doG

dabz
I thought the other day that there was nothing I would protest in a league softball game. I was wrong. Whoevers kid that was is an idiot. Normally an illegal player is not a safety issue, this clearly was.
 
M

markf

Addicted to Softballfans
I agree in regards to the safety concerns here, and I also feel that a protest should have happened when the kid first stepped foot on the field as a "player" because of those concerns..... Not after the fact to get the W.
 
dcz3

dcz3

Active Member
Nothing bad is going to happen to the kid in RF, 9 year olds are shagging fly balls every year in the MLB Home Run Derby without incident.

If hes on a 10U travel Baeball Team im sure he is better than 50% of the adults in Rec League Underhand Slowpitch Softball.
 
Joker

Joker

Well-Known Member
dcz3 said:
Nothing bad is going to happen to the kid in RF, 9 year olds are shagging fly balls every year in the MLB Home Run Derby without incident.

If hes on a 10U travel Baeball Team im sure he is better than 50% of the adults in Rec League Underhand Slowpitch Softball.
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i'm sure all this kid did was play RF and not hit or run the bases
 
SESC1001

SESC1001

FSU Nation
dcz3 said:
Nothing bad is going to happen to the kid in RF, 9 year olds are shagging fly balls every year in the MLB Home Run Derby without incident.

If hes on a 10U travel Baeball Team im sure he is better than 50% of the adults in Rec League Underhand Slowpitch Softball.
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No excuse at all to allow a 9 year old to play!
 
NCASAUmp

NCASAUmp

Un-Retired
zuke 37 said:
protests must be made the moment it takes place. if the kid was not on the roster then he was illeagle. it was not a judgment call for the ump it was on a rule, you can protest

also another reason for a leagel protest is they are making a travisty of the game.
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Wrong and wrong.

Just going to provide some rule clarifications here.

We're not talking about an illegal player, we're talking about an ineligible player. An illegal player is someone who is on the roster, but could not legally be in the game (either due to too many substitutions, being removed from the pitching position, etc.). An ineligible player is a player who isn't even legally on the roster, or is otherwise ineligible as per some other issue (won't get into that).

When an illegal player is used, you may only protest the game while they are actually in the game. However, you may protest the game at any time once the ineligible player has been used, regardless of whether they're still in the game.

And stop that "travesty of the game" bull****. The only rule that uses that phrase has to do with running the bases in reverse order.
 
CATMAN18

CATMAN18

GET SINISTER
The ump should have stopped it. I played in a league where a guy had his 17 year old fill in and the ump said no go unless he is 18. I personally would not protest, but i would also hate to see the kid get hurt.
 
J

joncon

Addicted to Softballfans
66FLH said:
I'd be too embarrassed of losing to a team that has a 9 year old playing to even think of protesting.
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...............yep^

And, in a half assed league that would allow a 9 year old to play, 9 is old enough to play. It's not like he is pitching or playing infield in an upper division.
 
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