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I was wondering, with those age categories and divisions that have a final Open Inning, when is best to declare the last inning in respect to the game being close to being a mercy? The issue of not ending a game super early and being able to play for the full 90-105 minutes is also a factor in making this decision.
The CMSA handbook defines the Mercy Rule (10.3, Softball Canada rule 5.6) as:
A mercy rule shall result in the conclusion of the game if:
1. After 2 ½, 3, 3 ½ or 4 complete innings of play if there is a difference of 15 or more runs.
2. After 4 ½, 5, 5 ½ or 6 complete innings of play if there is a difference of 7 or more runs.a. Complete innings must be played unless the team second at bat scores the required
number of runs while at bat. When the team first at bat reaches the required number of
runs in the top half of the inning, the team second at bat must have their opportunity to
bat in the bottom half of the inning.Now here’s a situation:
The game has just finished the 4th inning; the Home Team leads by 6 runs. There is between 30 and 45 minutes left on the time clock. The Away Team comes to bat for the top of the 5th inning.This situation is not yet a mercy, so the game continues.
Do we declare the 5th inning open?
If we DO and the Away team fails to score enough runs to tie in the top half, the Home Team would win the game long before the time is up.
If we do NOT, and the Away team fails to score a run in the top half of the inning, the Home team would need to score only one run in the bottom half to make the game a mercy. This could also end the game before the time is up.
If we do NOT (another situation), the Away team can still score only 5 (or 4) runs in that inning because it is closed. Perhaps they accomplish this, taking a long time, and the Home team also takes a long time for their half of the inning. This could potentially surpass the time limit beyond which no new innings may begin. This would be unfair to the Away team, who started their comeback as they could have potentially taken the lead in the game if the inning was declared open.
It seems unfair to declare an inning as open after the Away team has reached the run-per-inning limit, and letting them continue to bat.
Thoughts? What should be done?
Mark
Great question Mark. The timing of this post is perfect. It is on my to-do list to write up a good summary on this. This is a question that will come up and at times a team will feel it is unfair. One goal of the mercy rule is to prevent a team that is significantly down from getting hurt by emotionally giving up on the game but still playing. You can sometimes tell when an open inning should be called when you see a team is not having fun and wants the game to be over.
Our goal as umpire is to ensure the game is played fair. When calling an open inning there are many factors to take into consideration, one of which is if the game is already “won” without the open inning being called. You are essentially giving the losing team one last chance to catch up. We also don’t want to run out of light or put the diamond behind during a tournament because we didn’t call the opening inning early enough.
In ALL games we umpire, once the game is won, the game is won. If it is mathematically impossible for a team to catch up due to not having an open inning, or the home team is already winning/reached mercy the game should be called. We could be exposed on our insurance coverage if we let a game continue which has already been won by a team.
I will send something out in more detail after SBR tournament. In the mean time, feel free to discuss the topic..
Yes. Mercy Rule applies even if there was never an open inning. If you have a 15 run spread at any time after 2 1/2 complete innings [middle or bottom of 3rd inning] with the losing team having already completed their bats that inning, then the game is over. The number of runs needed for a mercy changes to 7 after 4 1/2 complete innings [the middle or bottom of the 5th inning or anytime thereafter].
Time remaining is not a factor when you have a mercy. The game is over.
As already mentioned, if you let the game continue when it has already been won is a liability and insurance exposure and should not be entertained. The players can chose to play on without an umpire, but as an umpire you should not continue with the game.
Does this make sense??
I believe your question is eluding to this scenario.
Since the difference for a mercy after the 4th inning vs after the 5th inning changes from 15 to 7, then if a tournament has a run max and even with that run max the team cannot tie the run difference at the end of the 5th inning, then you are truly compelled to open up the 5th inning regardless of the time. Without opening that inning, the losing team has technically already lost.
For example:
5 run max – open inning
Home Team leads 13 to 1 after 4 innings [12 run difference]
The most the visitors can score is 5 – At most reducing the difference to 7 runs which is the 7 run difference for a mercy after 5 innings
Thus the umpire will need to call opening inning for the 5th inning if the lead is 12, 13 or 14 in the 4th inning. If it is 15 or more, it should have already been called.4 run max – no open inning
Home Team leads 16 to 5 after 4 innings [11 run difference]
Technically the mercy rule is 15 runs, but since the mercy rule changes to 7 next inning and with a maximum reduction of the difference of 11 runs to 7 runs, the game is unable to be won with the remaining “time or innings left”. As such, the game should be declared over after the 4 innings and 11, 12, 13 or 14 run difference due to the losing team unable to mathematically be able to win the game because of the mercy rule.This should help “clarify” what I believe you were getting at.
Getting lost in the math? Confused? Ask your partner or UIC whether the game is over because of a mercy. The run limit with no open inning does complicate this math.
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