The Mercy Rule (Or Run Rule If You Prefer)...

The hot topic in several AP stories today is the Texas HS basketball coach getting fired for allowing his team to win a game 100-0 and then not apologizing. I would prefer to not get into whether his win was okay or not, but here are some other questions:

• What is an appropriate score to stop at when playing an inferior opponent?
  
• What tactics do you use to stop the scoring (i.e. stepping off bases, bunting, etc.)?
• If you are the inferior team in the game, where is the line between being beaten badly and the other team "running up the score?"
  

 

JMO

When you have your opponent beaten why not put your 2nd or 3rd string players in....clearly 53-0 at half time, the other team would not come back and beat them.....it's not always a vendetta against somebody when you beat the tar out of them, but it could be !! But clearly you know when you are doing wrong and when you are doing right !! I hate telling my kids stay here on first and don't still second, I feel like I confuse them ,but even they know when they are taking advantage of another team... Just remember what goes around comes around !!! Look @ OPEC--dah !! They know that they are gouging the pooh pooh out of us, but that hasn't stopped them yet..just thought I would throw that in there free of charge !!

Guru

 

I would say get up by the run rule limit for the appropriate inning and then add 1 run for a buffer. Once we are up by that amount, we do not steal bases, we bunt or bat opposite handed. We also change pitchers. We have even had the girls leave the base early. You want to get off of the field as quickly as possible and save your energy for the next game.

Having been on the losing side of some of these, we just stress the fundamentals to the girls and to keep playing hard. We have even coordinated with the other team to get girls an at bat when they would get an at bat if we followed the batting order.

Thankfully, when we have had to experience one of these, the opposing team did not continue to run the score up once they got to the run limit. It makes for a more congenial trip through the hand shake line.

When scorekeeping these types of games, when we have switched to the "lets get this game over mode", we usually give batters credit for a sacrifice since we are asking them to intentionally try to get an out. I know that this isn't totally in accordance with ATEC, but we feel it is the right thing to do for the girls.

 

score

didn't CC beat a team something like 53-0 in softball several years ago?

 

I'll say this, if my team was down 20 to 0, and the other team stole a base, scored on a passed ball, turned to bat opposite, or layed down a bunt..................we'd lose the game and the other coach would lose some teeth.

 

maybe a lesson from the links...

in golf, when your opponent has you whipped, you pick up his ball, shake his hand and say something like "Jolly good round, old boy!"... which means "you have thoroughly kicked my a$$!"

I have a problem with telling a player to give less than 100% when playing a game that is supposed to be competitive. Whether in hs ball or tb, there shouldn't be a "rec" mentality. Certainly, you shouldn't steal bases or score on passed balls when you're up big and the other team has no chance of coming back. Maybe you do give your starters a rest while giving the backups a chance to get some experience, but I would never tell them to not play to their best ability.

Maybe the pressure should be on the losing team's coach to throw in the towel and call it a day. There shouldn't be any stigma on a coach, or his/her team for being good!

 

Swing at anything????

Never have a player swing at anything the pitcher has to offer....

 

Ugly swings

My bad cheeze105... I forgot that was part of the *** training program.