Baseball/softball ethics question

[Hammer]

I play in a pretty competitive softball league on Tuesday nights. We have been required to use gold dot softballs (each team provides their own balls) for the safety of the infielders/pitchers ever since bats got very technically advanced. Last night, the team we played against used softballs that were frozen. It was pretty easy to tell since they were still cold to the touch in the 7th inning. I brought this up to the umpires several times but they said "just play" and "leave if you want".

 

Now, I play 3rd base so I was a bit nervous about taking a line drive off of my face and the end result of the game was a 22-9 loss. They hit 5 homers and generally just clubbed the ball all over the park. What would you guys/gals have done in this situation? Protest the game (both in 1st place going in to the game)? Would you have forfeited? Freeze your own softballs for next week (not my idea, but a teammates idea)?

[Nottso]

Is there a rule against freezing them, and did your team also get to hit the frozen balls? I have no real reason to ask, just curious. I'd probably protest the game, or at least make it known to the league officials, with an aside about the ump. Don't stoop to their level.

[JimH5]

I would have walked away. Though in truth, I probably wouldn't have played in such a competitive league.

 

Maybe you could bring some of your own, unfrozen balls along with next time, and insisted that they be used. I'm guessing they're in sealed boxes that could be opened in front of both teams and umpires.

 

In any case, it's not worth risking your health and safety over some unimportant sporting event.

[stoutdude04]

I would have sat on the bench until they let you use their balls to hit with. There is an ASA rule that says that the opposing team has to let you use their bats, im assuming the same could be said about the ball.

[Invader3K]

I don't play softball, but don't most leagues have rules against "doctoring" a ball? I would assume freezing a ball would fall under that category.

 

Pretty unethical and unsportsmanlike if you ask me.

[PlayerHader]

Is it an ASA league? The bats there have really been tamed down over the last several years. Still, if the league says gold dot balls, I'm sure any doctoring is illegal (not to mention a sign of major toolishness).

[Hammer]

Yep, it is an ASA league. The bats are really tamed down, the balls are tamed down and the game has really improved because of it in the last couple of years. That said, the doctoring of the ball is blatantly against the rules in my opinion and has a couple of teams bent out of shape now (got 4 phone calls this morning already from other players in the league). I'll be looking at the ASA rule book at some point today to get some more info...

[Brewtacular]

Could you bring a blow dryer?

[DSFastball55]

I just happen to have an ASA rule book sitting next to me. This is clearly illegal according to Rule 3, Section 7:

The characteristics of any approved equipment cannot be changed. Examples would be icing, cooling, heating equipment.

 

Edit: I would petition the league to declare that team to forfeit all games in which this occurred.

[Invader3K]

Edit: I would petition the league to declare that team to forfeit all games in which this occurred.

 

Yep, definitely. I wouldn't take this one lying down. If you decide to do something, let us know how it goes.

[TooLiveBrew]

I just happen to have an ASA rule book sitting next to me. This is clearly illegal according to Rule 3, Section 7:

The characteristics of any approved equipment cannot be changed. Examples would be icing, cooling, heating equipment.

 

Edit: I would petition the league to declare that team to forfeit all games in which this occurred.

Bingo. As someone that's umped his fair share of softball games, the umpires need to catch some crap on this one. The way they handled the situation was not only lazy, but it was reckless & ignorant. Player safety is supposed to come before anything.

 

Aside from the other team's arrogance, their own disregard for personal safety is despicable too. You're not crazy, Hammer -- the other people involved in this story are/were. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[stoutdude04]

I just happen to have an ASA rule book sitting next to me. This is clearly illegal according to Rule 3, Section 7:

The characteristics of any approved equipment cannot be changed. Examples would be icing, cooling, heating equipment.

 

Edit: I would petition the league to declare that team to forfeit all games in which this occurred.

I had a friend who used an illegal bat. The opposing team mentioned it right after his ab. They took away his hr and rbis from that ab. They said that if they would have waited until the end of the game, it would have been a forfeit. Im not sure how they could prove now that the team was using a doctored ball though.

 

Edit: There is a team that uses shaved bats in tournys where im from, no tournies let them in any more. They claim they dont use them but noone cares, and doesnt let them play. I would get the word out to other teams and let them know. They wont hear the end of it.

[dadofandrew]

How does freezing the ball make it go further? Makes it harder?

 

Sounds like the umps should have fixed this issue right away. From my experience, these guys are there for their $10-15 a game and give extremely minimal effort. If they're going to ignore the rules, the next step has to be the league commish and such. If they allow the umps to not enforce rules, I doubt anything will get done.

[Fatter than Joey]

How does freezing the ball make it go further? Makes it harder?

 

Right -- the ball absorbs less energy and more energy is transferred to motion.

[TooLiveBrew]

Sounds like the umps should have fixed this issue right away. From my experience, these guys are there for their $10-15 a game and give extremely minimal effort.

 

That's too bad -- I know MSCR (Madison) takes great pride in having accountable umpires. I worked over 3 seasons & never had a bad partner. The only 'bad' stories I'd hear from other players were when the umpires in question were too old to get into proper position and/or vision was an issue.

 

 

If they allow the umps to not enforce rules, I doubt anything will get done.

 

My guess (and hope) would be that this is not the case. I just doubt anyone actually winds up following through in almost every other case. Most people probably just hit the postgame activity (bar, cooler, etc.) & say 'Oh well...'

[beno78]

I think you would have a much better arguement from a safety perspective then from a competition perspective (although both seem valid). If they don't want to address the safety issue, then it might be time to find a new league.

[Hammer]

Hey guys,

I'll be meeting w/ the league commish and head ump this evening (perks of being an ump in the same city) and will update this late tonight. I'm going to argue for a forfeit from the safety perspective first and then from a competitive second.

 

doa - freezing a ball makes it compress less as ftj mentioned...it also breaks down slower so it stays hard all game unlike other gold dot balls which are mush by the 3rd inning.

 

More to come.

Hammer

[dadofandrew]

Am I being too simplistic here that they go out of their way to make a crappy ball for leagues that want to minimize offense. I've never seen a ball that is anything but rock hard for a game or two, and pretty solid for a long time. I played in a league that used "limited flight" balls 15 years ago, and we could never tell the difference.

[RockCoCougars]

I bet this team had a few "softball guys". I'm not a big Jim Rome fan, but this bears linking again.

 

Softball Guy

 

[TooLiveBrew]

Am I being too simplistic here that they go out of their way to make a crappy ball for leagues that want to minimize offense.

 

No, I think that's right. Beyond the safety issues... as lame as it is to guys that want to go play & have fun for hours at a time, high scoring games = much longer games. On an individual basis, no big deal. But when you think about having to manage leagues of teams under the umbrella of one municipality's parks-&-rec. dept., you can see why shorter games are a necessary evil.

[PlayerHader]

That Jim Rome clip has it's moments, but by the end he just sounds like a pretentious jerk who rips on anyone who has ever played recreational softball at any level.