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4 replies

Illegal Substitution?

P plvbaseballMember
I keep the book for an American Legion team in CT. I'm told they play by "American League" rules.
At yesterday's game the opposing 2B was removed from the game and replaced by the DH. This occurred when the opposing team was in the field in the middle of an inning. The game continued with a pitch being thrown. The issue is the DH was obviously hitting for the pitcher. When I brought this to our coach’s attention he questioned the home plate and base umpires and they were very confused. The opposing team now has two players in the same position in the batting order: the DH now in the field and the pitcher. Our coach (being a good sport) allowed a different sub into the game with no penalty due for the illegal substation.

My question is what is the remedy? Does the opposing pitcher become an illegal player and can he be forced from the game? Even speaking to the umps after the game they had no idea how to fix the situation if our coach wasn’t a good guy.
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R RPD100+ posts
As I read the DH rule, the substitution was entirely legal. What then happens is this:

DH (now playing infield) stays in his original position in the batting order

Pitcher now bats in the lineup position previously occupied by the 2B who came out of the game.

Original 2B is now out of the game and out of the batting order.

PLAY BALL!

Here's the rule: "The Designated Hitter may be used defensively, continuing to bat in the same position in the batting order, but the pitcher must then bat in the place of the substituted defensive player ..."

-and-

"Once a Designated Hitter assumes a defensive position this move shall terminate the Designated Hitter role for the remainder of the game."
P pilsner500+ posts
RPD nailed this one. Under OBR the DH can move to a defensive position but he can't change places in the batting order.

Under Fed rules the player being DH'd for is locked into that spot in the batting order. If the coach wishes to have him bat he must bat in the spot where the DH is.

Under Official Baseball Rules (OBR) the pitcher being DH'd for is not locked into the spot in the batting order where the DH is. Actually, as long as the DH is being used, the pitcher doesn't exist relative to the batting order at all.

This is very often a source of confusion for umpires who work for two or three months on High School games under Fed rules then switch to summer ball games (e.g. Amer. Legion) that employ OBR as a governing code.
F fvb10100+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by StyleMismatch:
There's a simple solution for all of this confusion - DO AWAY WITH THE DESIGNATED HITTER !!!!!


or require all codes to employ the same dh rules. When I was at JEAPU I never scored below 97% on any of his exams, except for the dh test, where i scored 89%. The dh rules are seriously complicated especially when changing from one code to another!

One of the members of our association created a "cheat sheet" for remembering all the scenarios for those of us who are working NCAA ball. It is a laminated note cards that is seriously useful. I'll see if I can locate one and post photos.

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