quote:
8-4-2b
Force-play slide rule protects fielders from injury
By Russ Lockhart
It starts out as a normal play, batter hitting a slow roller to the young second baseman. Being inexperienced, the fielder hesitates as he starts his throw to the shortstop that is charging to second base. With the errant throw, the shortstop has to adjust to tag the bag. The runner slides, crashing into the shortstop sending him to the dirt. The shortstop reaches out his arm to brace his fall, but the arm gives away. The shortstop stands and dusts his self; lucky he wasn’t seriously injured.
Many athletes suffer injuries – minor and career ending – as the result of slides, some legal and some illegal. Interested in protecting fielders on that type of play, the National Federation of State High School Associations instituted its force-play slide rule in 1998 and made it a point of emphasis in 1999.
Purpose of the rule
It’s a safety rule designed to protect a fielder on a force play, especially when a runner takes out a fielder on the front end of a double play that starts at second base. The Federation is trying to cut out the hard slides often seen in professional baseball games, where runners at all costs break up the pivot of the second baseman or shortstop.
At first glance, the application of the rule seems difficult. Once we examine FED 8-4-2b, the force play slide rule, and FED 2-32-1, 2 and exception, the definition of a slide, it’s easier to understand the rule.
Rule 8-4-2 reads: Any runner is out when he: (b) does not legally slide and causes illegal contact and/or legally alters the actions of a fielder in the immediate act of making a play, or on a force play, does not slide in a direct line between the bases. A runner may slide away from the fielder to avoid contact or alter the play of the fielder. Runners are never required to slide, but if a runner elects to slide, the slide must be legal.
Legal slides
First, we’ll look at a legal slide. Then, we’ll look at what constitutes an illegal slide. Finally, we’ll study what happens on the force-play slide rule.
What is a legal slide? A legal slide can be either feet first or head first. If a runner slides feet first, at least one leg and buttock shall be on the ground. If a runner slides, he must slide within reach of the base with either a hand or a foot. (Fed 2-32-1)
This is confusing?
