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"New York State Softball" News and notes from the New York State ASA Office. February 2005 Issue #3 Robert P. Farrell, Commissioner nysasa@twcny.rr.com http://www.newyorkasa.org By Subscription Only! You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instructions are at the end of this newsletter. ----------------------------------------------- IN THIS ISSUE ----------------------------------------------- => Important Contact Information => Association Seek New Commissioners => New York State ASA Commissioner Appointments/Resignations => Rule Books and Score Books => Hall of Fame Induction Information => Playing Rule Changes => Important Dates => General National Council Session Notes => Subscribe/Unsubscribe information ----------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION ----------------------------------------------- Please use only my home e-mail (nysasa@twcny.rr.com), phone number (315-343-6096) and PO Box 3134, Oswego, New York 13126 for any future ASA business. ----------------------------------------------- ASSOCIATIONS SEEK NEW COMMISSIONERS ----------------------------------------------- The Commissioners from Tennessee, Dayton, St. Louis, Colorado, Oklahoma City and North Carolina have all handed in their resignation in the last two months. West Virginia will have a new commissioner as well. Some of these changes were foreseen. In some cases the new, stricter guidelines/duties for commissioners that took effect in the 2005 ASA Code had a lot to do with the decisions. Additionally, numerous commissioners from across the county were brought before the Ethics Committee this past November. The new guidelines were presented before discussing each commissioner’s situation. In our own region, two commissioners went before the Ethics Committee, one for a decrease in registrations. The other appeared because no “championship play” assessments were turned in. ----------------------------------------------- NYSASA COMMISSIONER APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS ----------------------------------------------- Mike Eggleston has stepped down as JO Commissioner of District 11. Chris Tehonica will replace Mike in that position. His contact information is: 2449 Second Street, Herrings, New York 13619. Home: (315) 493-6351 Cell: (315) 771-9810. Additionally, William “Bill” Bosch will serve as a local Player Representative. Bill’s information is 143 County Route 42, Oswego, New York 13126, (315) 342-1720 bosch@cs.oswego.edu ----------------------------------------------- RULE BOOKS AND SCOREBOOKS ----------------------------------------------- The 2005 rulebooks and scorebooks are at the printers and distribution to the local associations will begin in mid-January. Many of you should have received your shipments by the time you read this newsletter. Any problems with your material should be directed to me as soon as possible. -----------------CHECK THIS OUT---------------- About ASA The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation's largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 89 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams and 40,000 umpires today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit www.asasoftball.com. ----------------------------------------------- NYS HALL OF FAME INDUCTION ----------------------------------------------- The Francis Mott New York State Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place at the Binghamton Regency Hotel and Conference Center on March 12, 2005 in Binghamton, NY. We have a group rate of $66.00 per room, but reservations must be made by February 18th. Reservations for the inductees have already been made. Contact the hotel at (607) 722-7575, 1 Sarbro Sq., Binghamton, NY 13901 ----------------------------------------------- PLAYING RULE CHANGES ----------------------------------------------- 2005 Playing Rule Changes (Effective January 1, 2005) Rule #1 – The Definitions Rule #1 – Infield Fly A fair fly ball . . . which can be caught by an infielder, pitcher or catcher with ordinary effort . . . Comment: Wording of previous definition was vague concerning the pitcher and catcher. Rule #3 – Equipment Rule #3 – Section 1, F SURFACE. The official bat shall be smooth with a maximum surface roughness of 250 micro-inches. It shall be free of burr and visible cracks and shall not have exposed rivets, pins, rough or sharp edges or any form of exterior fastener that would present a hazard. Comment: Provides a process of measuring the surface roughness of a bat submitted for approval under the ASA 2004 Performance Standard. Rule #3, Section 1, G BARREL END. If not constructed of wood and not made of one piece construction with the barrel end closed, the barrel end shall have a rubber or vinyl plastic or other approved material insert or end cap at the large end of the bat. The insert or end cap shall be firmly secured and permanently affixed so that it cannot be removed by anyone other than the manufacturer without damaging or destroying the end cap. Comment: Prior rule applied only to metal bats. This rule change applies to the to all non-wood bats and also ensures that the end cap is securely and permanently attached to the bat. Rule #3, Section 1, K NEW CONSTRUCTION. The official bat shall be one-piece construction or a multi-piece permanently assembled bat. NOT APPROVED: two-piece bats, multiple piece bats, bats not sold as a single product are not approved, and bats where at least one portion of the bat is intended to be removable by a player from another portion of the bat. Comment: Manufacturers are beginning to make and sell bats with interchangeable parts or components. Because these multi-piece bats are not permanently assembled, they may change the character of the game of softball. Some interchangeable components may not be ASA-approved and creates potential confusion on the field of play for players and umpires. Of the multi-piece bats that have been reviewed, certain durability and safety aspects of the bats remain in question. ASA currently intends to monitor the multi-piece bat technology as it continues to develop. Rule #3, Section 2, B WARM-UP BAT. The warm-up bat shall comply with the safety grip and safety knob requirements of the official bat (See Rule 3, Sec 1 H & I). Comment: Safety grip and safety knob requirements for warm up bats are know the same. Rule #3, Section 5, E HELMETS. …… All Junior Olympic Fast Pitch batting helmets shall be equipped with a securely fastened NOCSAE approved face mask guard. Comment: To insure the new face mask/guard is permanently attached. Rule #5 – The Game Rule #5, Section 8 A 1 HOME RUN RULE . Change from 15 home runs to 12. Comment: In Men’s Major SP Championships, no team ever reached the 12 home run limit. With the adjusting of the bats and balls, is needed to be competitive. Rule #5, Section 10 TIME LIMIT RULE. When the time limit is in effect, the time limit begins with the first pitch. Comment: Now that time limits have been authorized for all region/area play (ASA Code 510 O), there should be a definitive start time. Rule #5, Section 11 C NEW MEN’S SENIOR SLOW PITCH ONLY. Use the international tie breaker rule after completion of seven (7) innings. Comment: To conform with other senior organizations. Rule #6 – Pitching Regulations (16” Slow Pitch) Rule #6, Section 7 Delete “No pick off can be made.” Comment: 16” Slow Pitch teams at the National Championship requested this change. Rule #8 – Batter – Runner and Runner Rule #8, Section 3 I Add to exception: Women’s Open and Coed Major. Comment: To allow the Women’s Open and Coed Major division to not run the bases on home runs. Rule #8, Section 4 G Men’s Slow Pitch and Women’s Open Slow Pitch Only. Deletes #1 and #2 and replace with …. The ball remains alive until the pitcher has possession of the ball in the infield and all immediate play has apparently completed. Runners not advancing return to the last base legally touched. Comment: Eliminate some confusion of when the runners can leave and return to the base. Also, eliminates any judgment as to what the vicinity of the pitching plate is. Should be treated the same as when a base hit is returned to the pitcher in the infield. If no runners are attempting to advance the umpire can call time to stop play. Adding stealing to the upper division of Women’s Slow Pitch will increase participation. It will be a perfect transition between fast pitch and slow pitch. Rule #8, Section 5 B 1 1. An obstructed runner may not be called out between the two bases where obstructed unless properly appealed for: NEW a) when an obstructed runner, after the obstruction, safely obtains the base they would have been awarded, in the umpire’s judgment, had there been no obstruction and there is a subsequent play on a different runner, the obstructed runner is no longer protected between the bases where they were obstructed and may be put out, b) when properly appealed for missing a base, c) when properly appealed for leaving a base before a fly ball was first touched d) when committing an act of interference, or e) when passing another runner. Comment: This change maintains an offense/defense balance that eliminates confusion on an obstruction play between bases. Rule #8, Section 5 C NEW Fast Pitch, Slow Pitch with Stealing (Men’s and Women’s Open Slow Pitch.) When a pitched ball that remains live becomes blocked or goes into dead ball territory. EFFECT: The ball is dead and all runners are awarded one base only. The batter is awarded first base only on the fourth ball. Comment: Makes all games consistent and better understanding by players and umpires. ----------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT DATES: ----------------------------------------------- · U.I.C. Workshop - Feb. 4-6, 2005 – Oklahoma City, OK. · Commissioner’s Workshop - Feb. 19, 20 2005 – Oklahoma City, OK. · NYS Spring Commissioner’s Meeting – March 12, 2005 – Binghamton, NY. · NYS Hall of Fame Induction – March 12, 2005 – Binghamton, NY. · National Umpire School – March 19, 20 2005 – Syracuse, NY. ----------------------------------------------- GENERAL NATIONAL COUNCIL SESSION NOTES ----------------------------------------------- Discussions that took place during the Legislative meeting: *10-12 associations pay most of the tournament assessment fees. *Those not running tournaments cause a loss of revenue to ASA – not fiscally responsible. *Assessments are not a tax but a user’s fee. *Local associations are being questioned about paying/not paying fees or running/not running tournaments. ASA totals all registrations and assessments together for each of the 89 associations. The registration total comes from fees sent to the national office. The assessment total is for all championship play tournaments in our association. New York State ASA ranks 9 out of 89 associations. We contributed 42,884.00 to ASA. From the 5 associations that make up our region, we are #1. New Jersey is #2 (11th over-all). Southern New York is #3 (20th over-all). #4 is Buffalo (40th over-all). Newark is #5 (67th over-all). Two areas where commissioner’s were neglect and brought before the ethics committee for infractions were: 1. Remit annually, prior to June 1, registrations fees totaling $1,500.00 or more. 2. Submit the affiliation fee of $1,000 by January 31. ----------------------------------------------- CLASSIFIED ADS ----------------------------------------------- www.softballoutlet.com ********* www.officialgear.com ********* www.mwtrophy.com/asa ----------------------------------------------- IN THE NEXT ISSUE ----------------------------------------------- · New and notes from the Commissioner’s Meeting in OKC · Information on the National Umpires School · Invitational Tournament Updates · Web site information ----------------------------------------------- Subscriber Management / Contact Information ----------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004 – New York State ASA. All Rights reserved http://www.newyorkasa.org List Maintenance: To Subscribe: Send an e-mail from the account you want the newsletter sent with the words “NYSASA Newsletter” in the heading. If you want it sent via postal service mail, include your address. To Unsubscribe: Send an e-mail from the account you receive the newsletter with the words “Newsletter Unsubscribe” in the heading. Archived issues of this newsletter can be found at http://www.newyorkasa.org/archives Robert P. Farrell, Commissioner New York State ASA nysasa@twcny.rr.com PO Box 3134, Oswego, NY 13126 315-343-6096 ----------------------------------------------- Template by http://www.HomeBizTools.com ----------------------------------------------- | December 2004 Newsletter | December 2004 Newsletter Issue 1A | January 2005 Newsletter | February Newsletter | April 2005 Newsletter | | Scholarship Recipient | Press Release | Archived Newsletters | Newsletters | Kristen Costello | Jenna Hubbard | ASA National Council News | Press Release Clintons ASA | Umpire Doxsey Retires | 2008 NYSASA Handbook | NYS ASA In Rwanda | 2007 New York State ASA Championship Results | 2008 NYS ASA State Tournament Requests | 'Grandfathered' Bats No Longer Authorized | 2008 ASA Code Changes and Comments | ASA News | Mandatory Rejection | | Return Home | Commissoner's Desk | Officers & Commissioners | Umpires | Awards & Hall of Fame | Tournament Information | Great Links | Photos | Contact Us | |
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