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Mandatory Sliding Into Home?
by Dave
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Meri writes in with the following question:
"Some coaches say sliding into home base is mandatory. If a girl walks or runs over home base the point does not count. What is correct? I can't find an on-line rules or coaches handbook link."
I sort of have the same question you do. That is, I don't quite understand why it is often said that a baserunner must slide into homeplate every time or she is out. That is not just a question of the run counting or not. You should never "not count the run" without the runner also being called out. The runner is either safe or out. If she is out because the ump called interference, the run doesn't count. If the ump doesn't call her out for interference or other reason, she is safe and the run counts.
Looking at PONY rules which are substantially similar to ASA rules (I don't have an ASA rulebook handy):
"Sec. 5 Baserunners are entitled to advance without liability to be put out:
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b. When a fielder obstructs the baserunner from making a base, unless the fielder is trying to field a batted ball, or has the ball ready to touch the base-runner.
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Sec. 8 The Baserunner is out:
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j. When the baserunner interferes with a fielder attempting to field a batted ball or
intentionally interferes with a thrown ball.
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s. When a defensive player has the ball and the runner remains on her feet and deliberately, with great force, crashes into the defensive player, the runner is to be declared out."
I was unable to find any rule requiring the baserunner to always slide in order to avoid contact. All the rules I have ever seen require either the general avoidance of contact, or the avoidance of contact while the fielder either has the ball or is immediately expecting it. I found nothing suggesting the runner to homeplate is any different than any other runner. I found nothing requiring the baserunner to home to slide. But in practice, I don't think you will find the letter of the rules followed.
If you take the scenario of a player approaching a base as a throw is also arriving to a defensive player, the runner does not slide and she instead makes any contact at all with the defender, she will be called out regardless of which base is involved and whether the fielder has any reasonable expectation of catching the throw. For example, she'll be called out regardless of how far away the throw is - a ball thrown say 20 feet over her head or 20 feet away to the side. If the fielder is there, expecting a throw, and the runner does not slide, most umps, at whatever type of play, will call her out. This is especially true with respect to home plate.
Ask just about any ump and they'll tell you they will call any baserunner out at home if the catcher seems to be expecting the ball and the runner does not slide. There seems to be a bias in this regard even when the ball is not coming in to the catcher. Umps seem to take the position that a runner who slides is proving she has no intent to interfere. Personally, I think this is the wrong call. I think the catcher should be called for defensive interference unless she either has the ball or is about to catch it. By "about to catch it" I mean the ball gets there within a fraction of a second of the baserunner. If say the shortstop has just caught the ball and turns to throw but the baserunner touches homeplate just as the shortstop releases the ball, the catcher has no business "protecting the plate." I believe she is obstructing. But no umps that I have seen will make that call. Instead they'll call the runner out if she doesn't slide. The bias seems to be that the baserunner in plate collissions is always the aggressor. As a former catcher, I know that's not the truth.
I believe the intentions of these umpires are to protect the kids. They do not want to tolerate for even a single play the possibility of the type of crashes one routinely sees in Major League Baseball. That's all well and good but more broken ankles happen from slides into home plate in youth softball than there are legitimate plays on those runners. Those broken ankles are probably equally blameable on poor sliding and poorly installed plates or poorly prepared surfaces around homeplate. Often the area around home gets dug up pretty good during the course of a single game, let alone a tournament where 6 games are played on one field. Regardless of the causes, this absolute slide rule causes more injuries than it could ever hope to prevent. If the pure obstruction rules were followed but sliding not imposed, we'd probably have fewer injuries in the game.
I hope this answers your question. But in case I have not been clear, there is no PONY rule requiring sliding into homeplate for the run to count. Some local leagues or other governing bodies may have one. More importantly, umpires usually require it on anything even remotely close, regardless of what the rule book says. But the coaches who claim that a run doesn't count unless the runner slides are wrong.
 
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