| D5 UIC
May 19, 2008
11:59:38 AM
Entry #: 2757383
| I thought I would use this forum to help clarify certain Little League rules.
THERE IS NO MUST-SLIDE RULE IN LITTLE LEAGUE. Rule 7.08(a)(3) states “Any runner is out when the runner does not slide or attempt to get around a fielder who has the ball and is waiting to make the tag.”
There are two keys to interpreting this rule correctly:
1) the fielder must have the ball and be waiting to make the tag; and
2) the runner must slide or attempt to get around the fielder.
The first key is that the fielder must have the ball in his possession and be waiting to make the tag. To be waiting to make the tag, the fielder has to be facing the runner and prepared to tag him. If the fielder has the ball in his possession and is merely turning to tag the runner, this rule does not apply.
The second key is that, if the fielder has possession of the ball and is waiting to apply the tag, the runner must either slide or attempt to get around the fielder. The conjunction or, in this sentence, requires that a runner make a choice to either slide or, in the alternative, make an attempt to get around the fielder. Any legitimate attempt to get around the fielder, whether there is contact or not, satisfies the requirements of the rule. This may include hurdling a fielder if, in the umpire’s judgment, it is a legitimate attempt to get around the fielder and the runner had a legitimate chance of clearing the fielder. While this may be illegal at other levels, Little League has no prohibition to the act of hurdling a fielder. Coaches and parents should be discouraged from teaching this practice however.
Under no circumstances, however, should there be any confusion about the illegality of a runner intentionally colliding with a fielder in an aggressive manner. Any intentional collision with a fielder, as is the ordinary practice in professional baseball, should result in the ejection of the runner. Any ejection carries with it a minimum of a one-game suspension.
Should you have any questions about this rule, or any other rule, I would encourage you to end your questions to me at:
jknoebel@bellsouth.net
Jeffrey Knoebel
Indiana District 5 UIC
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