Question:
Hey Bobby,
We ran into a little issue at our Wednesday night game that the rules didn't clarify. If a base runner tags up on a caught fly ball, are they only rewarded one base? At our game, the ball was caught in the outfield, the runner, tagged on second but proceeded home.
There wasnt anything in the rule books and the ref was unsure as well. I believe in baseball, the rule is that a baserunner is rewarded one base on a tagged run.
Any way we can clarify this? I can see how it could be used to a teams advantage, but I would like to make sure that it is legal.
Thanks!
Answer:
I actually can not take credit for the entire answer. One of this member's teammates also naswered the question (correctly I might add) and THAT is what DSL is all about!
Here was my answer...
Actually we have never expressly written a rule on this other than tag ups are legal. We have always played it that it is as much as you can get. As Tim pointed out, this is the same as in baseball. However, although we derive a lot of the basic rules (and some of the more intricate ones) from baseball, not all the rules are exactly the same. We often create our own rules based on discussions with members and amongst ourselves that we feel best fit our needs and the game that WE want to play as a league. In other words, a lot of DSL rules are very much member written. I just think it helps involve the members in creating a league that is their own.
There are plenty of occasions (especially in the beginning) where we simply have not thought about something or have not expressly added an Addendum to the rules (like how many bases you can get off a tag up) and thus by default it is as many bases as you can get. Often this is not an issue in baseball (or kickball for that matter) in that often the runner does not have the speed or the time to get more than one base before the ball is thrown in. Essentially it is just something that rarely comes up in either sport.
However, Tim is 100% correct since a “tag up” is not an overthrow there is no “one base” policy.
Thanks for asking! We are always happy to answer questions and thank you for doing so in such a respectful way! I always say that the day that the members stop being involved and asking questions is the day we REALLY have to worry!
Thanks so much all of you for caring enough to write…we truly appreciate it! I hope this answers your question and please always feel free to ask for a clarification. We are happy to give them!
Have a FUN weekend!
