Wow. Some questions that I'll actually have to think about, instead of just opening up the rule book and quoting a rule!
1. If you could do so, which rule or rules would you remove from the rulebook? (ASA softball as a guide)
Maybe the uncaught third strike rule. Make it so that if you strike out, you are out! Who cares if the catcher catches the ball. This rule has it's roots in 19th century baseball. We are in a new millenium!
Plus, umpires love outs. The more outs, and the more quickly they happen, just gets us one step closer to icy cold adult beverages after the game!
I wish that they would change the name of a "foul tip", just so people wouldn't confuse it with a "foul ball". Foul balls are dead and foul tips aren't, and that seems to cause a lot of confusion.
Maybe we could call it a "live nick" or a "tipped ball".
One ASA interpretation I don't really like is that a batter can be out for interference on an uncaught third strike if she accidentally interferes with the ball. The pitcher has had her chance to throw a good pitch and the catcher has had a chance to catch it. A batter can get called out for interference just because she had the rotten luck of having the catcher deflect the ball into her path. Seems like a raw deal- the defense has erred and the offense is punished.
I would like to see the interpretation changed to be more inline with how this is called in baseball. The batter is only out if the interference is intentional. If the ball just happens to bounce into the batters path, you should give her the benefit of the doubt.
2. What rules would you add to the rulebook - or at least ammend?
I probably answered most of that in the first question...
How about "no chanting"? After four or five games of constant chants, that stuff can give you a headache!
I would like to see better definitions for some of the illegal pitch violations. "Crow hopping" is one poorly defined and often misunderstood term. For all the complaints about illegal pitching, I would like to have some clarifications as to what exactly is and isn't legal.
Here is a radical suggestion that has been floated in recent years: Move the pitching distance back X-number of feet and then let the pitcher leap or hop to her heart's content. Have a forward "committ line" that the pitcher could not cross in the direction of the plate. If she jumps over the forward line, that would be illegal.
This would eliminate all the arguments about if the pitcher's pivot foot left the ground before the pitch, because it wouldn't be illegal. Moving the pitcher's plate back would tend to negate any advantage gained by leaping (plus, maybe keep the pitcher a little bit safer).
This change will probably never happen in our lifetimes. If it does, I imagine that the new argument will be that the pitcher crossed the forward line!
3. What is the most misunderstood rule in the rulebook? (umpires and coaches)
If you've seen the document "40 Softball Rule Myths", you know that there are at least 40 of them!
Hands being part of the bat, foul tips being foul balls, runners called out for leaving early being a force out, a pitch hitting the ground cannot result in a hit batter, runners are required to slide, a batted ball hitting home plate is a foul ball, "fair/foul" being determined by where the fielders feet are touching the ground, a batter can't switch sides of the plate after two strikes, where a batter can and can't be to be properly positioned in the batter's box...
These are all rules that not a season goes by where I don't have to explain them at least once to a coach, be it a baseball or softball game.
As for a rule unique to softball, I would have to say the Look Back Rule. This one seems to get botched on a regular basis by coaches and umpires alike.
And then there is the DP/FLEX rule. This rule takes up an entire page of the rule book, and there are so many "ifs" and "maybes" and "ins" and "outs" that reading the rule is like reading the tax code. It really does take some work to get the hang of it, but once you do it starts to make some sense.
4. What is the biggest mistake that coaches make?
I can't really comment on strategic mistakes, like defensive alignments, or calling pitches, or when to steal a base.
From an umpiring perspective, I think that one of the biggest mistakes is how some coaches react when a call doesn't go their way. Sometimes, the first instinct is to yell and argue. Generally, that will either be ignored or, if it becomes obnoxious, get you ejected!
You really need to stay calm, request time, wait until it is granted, then try to discuss the call with the umpire in a civil manner. That approach will work in your your favor more times than will random screaming.
The coach should ask the right questions to figure out if the call was related to umpire judgment or an rule application. If it's a rule that has been misapplied, that can be protested. A coach also needs to know the correct procedure for filing a protest! It's right there in the rule book.
Along those same lines, if you have an issue with a call you need to speak with the umpire that made it. Many times I see a controversial call made by the base umpire, and teh coach complains to the plate umpire. Maybe they think that the plate umpire is "the boss", with authority to overrule the base umpire, but that is not the case.
The whole "asking your partner for help" thing seems to get out of hand sometimes. It is not a process intended for a coach to fish for a second opinion on a close judgment call he doesn't like.
The coach really needs to have some concrete reason beyond not liking the call. Was there an issue with the umpire's view being blocked, or the umpire being terribly out of position? Was the ball dropped on a tag play and the umpire didn't see it, where his partner may have had a better view? Was there a gross misapplication of a rule?
All of these might be valid reasons for an umpire to check with his partner and any good umpire should be willing to go for help in these situations. But you need to first go to the umpire who made the actual call. And, if that umpire saw the play clearly and is sure of what he saw, he has every right to stick with the original call he made.
Knowing who to ask, when to ask, what to ask and how to ask it gives the coach the best possibility of getting the call to be corrected in his favor.
5. Do you like walking tacos? (careful, this is a loaded question)
I do not "like" walking tacos...I love them!
