Worthy of ejection???

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I will just throw in my 1 cent( sometime that's all its worth) Going hard and sliding hard is part of the game and should remain abd be taught. That being said, more rules are in place now a days, like it or not, to protect the players. You cannot slide anymore just to break up a double play, even if you are in gorrila arms reach of the bag.( not even in college) But one of the obvious things that ey have done, like in this case, is protect girls even if they find themselves out of position. The girls sliding may always slide like that and she is not being malicious, but if the circumstances( ss having foot in front of 2nd) makes it look malicious then an umpire is going to make the ejection call. I know the ss should not have her foot there and she has probably somehwere along the line been told that it is dangerous to put it there. But i have played ss before and I defienaltey know it, but sometimes the play takes you there or you just did not execute correctly and you end up flipped. My point is this, the excuse that the player getting crushed, was not in the right spot does not work anymore if the player doing the crushing APPEARS to be doing it maliciously... This is just how it is now a days at every level, just more so from younger to older and amatuer to proffessional..

My 1 cent!!

 

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A little food for thought (from someone who didn't have the opportunity to see the play)...

NFHS/High School rules definition of a legal or illegal slide:

Rule 2-52:​

ART. 1 . . . Legal Slide.

A legal slide may be either feet first or head first. If a runner slides feet first, at least one leg and buttock shall be on the ground. If a runner slides, the runner shall be within reach of the base with either hand or a foot when the slide is completed.

ART. 2 . . . Illegal Slide. A slide is illegal if:​

a. the runner uses a rolling or cross-body slide into the fielder;​

b. the runner's raised leg is higher than the fielder's knee when the fielder is in a standing position;
c. the runner goes beyond the base and makes contact with or alters the play of the fielder;
d. the runner slashes or kicks the fielder with either leg; or
e. the runner tries to injure the fielder.

Contacting the fielder feet-first, while airbourne, is clearly prohibited under that definition. As noted earlier, ASA rules do not spell out in black-and-white what constitutes a legal or illegal slide, but those are reasonable guidelines an umpire could use to judge illegal contact.​

Also of note, an illegal slide does not necessarily equate to an automatic ejection. Most illegal slides are handled as a form of interference and the runner is just called out- not ejected. The only one of those definitions that should realistically lead to an ejection is the last one- if a runner tries to injure the fielder. That is "malicious contact" in high school ball, or "unsportsmanlike conduct" under ASA rules. The runner's "intent" is strictly left to umpire judgment.

Just some things to think about as you teach your players the proper sliding techniques.​

 

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Thanks for your feed back Softball Mom. It looks like you and I had the exact same view of it but have two different opinions. The collision happened in the baseline and not on or beind the bag. The player went in hard but the "kung-foo" is a little over the top. From your vantage point on the opposing teams bleachers you may have been a little emotionally involved just like myself. She will work hard to add additional slides to the "kung foo" slide she has been using the last 6 years with out incident. Thanks again for your view and I look forward to any future replies.

Please don't take my comment as a criticism. I only mentioned that our players (mind you, we're looking through the eyes of 14 & 15 year olds) characterized her slide as a "kung foo"ing to point out (as with anything) that different actions can and are often interpreted differently by people. Apparently the umpire interpreted her actions the same way. I did not mean to suggest that the player was instructed to do that in any way shape or form. Maybe in the heat of a very good, intense game, the players emotions and passion might have pushed her a little too much and correct form may fallen away??

 

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A little food for thought (from someone who didn't have the opportunity to see the play)...

NFHS/High School rules definition of a legal or illegal slide:

Rule 2-52:​

ART. 1 . . . Legal Slide.

A legal slide may be either feet first or head first. If a runner slides feet first, at least one leg and buttock shall be on the ground. If a runner slides, the runner shall be within reach of the base with either hand or a foot when the slide is completed.

ART. 2 . . . Illegal Slide. A slide is illegal if:​

a. the runner uses a rolling or cross-body slide into the fielder;​

b. the runner's raised leg is higher than the fielder's knee when the fielder is in a standing position;
c. the runner goes beyond the base and makes contact with or alters the play of the fielder;
d. the runner slashes or kicks the fielder with either leg; or
e. the runner tries to injure the fielder.

​

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Thanks Breman. I think that pretty much closes the discussion. Everyone here says that the player had both feet off the ground.​