International Tiebreaker Rule

[grayhawk]

Was reading the National AAU rules and came across this gem:

 

Article 1- During pool play only, if the score is tied at the end of 6 innings for 12U and younger or 7 innings for 13U and older, or reaches its time limit, one extra inning will be played using the international tiebreaker rule. At the beginning of the extra inning, coaches will meet at home plate and indicate to the umpire where in their batting order they will begin. Each team has the option of beginning anywhere in the batting order that was in place the previous inning. The previous two batters in the order will be placed on first and second base accordingly with no outs.

 

Our local AAU organization doesn't use this, but I thought it was funny.  Has anyone ever umpired a game where this was used?  

[JaxRolo]

 

Was reading the National AAU rules and came across this gem:

 

 

Article 1- During pool play only, if the score is tied at the end of 6 innings for 12U and younger or 7 innings for 13U and older, or reaches its time limit, one extra inning will be played using the international tiebreaker rule. At the beginning of the extra inning, coaches will meet at home plate and indicate to the umpire where in their batting order they will begin. Each team has the option of beginning anywhere in the batting order that was in place the previous inning. The previous two batters in the order will be placed on first and second base accordingly with no outs.

 

Our local AAU organization doesn't use this, but I thought it was funny.  Has anyone ever umpired a game where this was used?  

 

We did this during our Florida Advanced Umpire Camp. We were working AAU Tournament for our evaluation games.

 

It came up a couple of times.

 

Pretty weird.

[afaber12]

I haven't umpired a game with it, but I saw a game that had a variation of it a couple of seasons ago.

 

It was in the ABL at the end of 2010. A four game series was scheduled in Sydney against Melbourne over the Friday, Saturday, Sunday weekend. The scheduled doubleheader was washed out on the Saturday, so one of the games was rescheduled to the Sunday, with the other game being played in Melbourne when the teams met again later on. With more rain on Sunday affecting delaying the first game already scheduled for 7 digs for the makeshift doubleheader, the second game got shortened to 7 digs as well to try and fit it in.

 

After 7 innings in the second game, it was 0-0. It was also within an hour of the league curfew - games had to be over by the curfew so the visiting team could make their booked travel arrangements and be back in home in time for those guys with so-called "real" jobs to go to work on Monday. I don't know if they still have the rule in effect, because to my knowledge the situation hasn't come up again, but any extra inning started within an hour of the curfew would start with R1 and R2, but no shifting within the lineup. As it turned out, both teams scored 1 run in the 8th, and by that time the game had reached the curfew, so it was called a tie. I found it a bit amusing that a rule intended to break a tie only managed to raise the score of the tie.

 

I'm pretty sure the rule was introduced for international play as a way of limiting the possibility of games in tournaments running over the allowed-for time, as well as a way of addressing concerns the IOC had about baseball to try and get it back into the Olympics - fitting games into TV schedules, that sort of thing.

[guyinaredhat]

USSSA uses this rule. Yes it happens quite often, Except we don't play one inning our tournament company makes us play it out.  No ties in pool play or brackets.   I think it makes the game even longer.  Usualy awa teams scores a few and then the home team makes it interesting. 

[BRUMP]

I think it's stupid.

[mstaylor]

I have used the ITB many times. 

[cyclonehokiece]

Used many different tie breaking mechanisms. Including one where each half inning starts with one out and each batter has one strike on them.

[Jimurray]

Everything is stupid about timed games. But the pay per minute beats a regular game.

[SoCal Lurker]

I have heard (don't know if it's true) that this came over from softball.  My son played a tournament with a version of this, but no shift in the batting order (which seems just plain weird to me) -- the last out of the last inning takes second (and I think we may have started with one out as well)

[mstaylor]

I believe it was originally softball but was adopted in baseball for the Olympics. 

[LMSANS]

Softball Int'l tiebreaker is

The last batter from the previous inning is placed on second.

The batting order proceeds as normal.

This is done every inning until the tie is broken.

[Jocko]

Last batted out on 2b. Play on

[LMSANS]

The last scheduled batter in the inning. Larry Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

[mstaylor]

Last batted out on 2b. Play on

Why does everybody always want to use the last batted out instead of the last out.  If you have a good pitcher the last batted out could have been three innings ago. 

[Jocko]

Not a rule I'm a fan of. But it is what it is. Same as speed up runner with no subs.

[afaber12]

I think in principle it's not a horrible idea, because it does make it more likely runs will be scored, so more likely to get a result quicker. At least that's the idea. In reality, most of the games I've seen this used the teams try the same things. If they're allowed to pick where in the order they start from, they often go for their fastest runners on the bases, their best bunter to lead off the dig, then I guy who can hit a sac fly/home run to bat second. You're all but guaranteed 1 run, and a decent chance at 1 or 2 more. Of course if both teams do the same thing, it comes down to who stuffs up first. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

[mjr_2013]

I'd always heard it was put a R2 on (last batted out), one out, batting order remains the same... I've played slow pitch church league softball with it, but never umpired it. I understand why it's done, but I'm not a fan.

 

I like how many variations we're finding of the so called "international" tiebreaker.

[afaber12]

I'd always heard it was put a R2 on (last batted out), one out, batting order remains the same... I've played slow pitch church league softball with it, but never umpired it. I understand why it's done, but I'm not a fan.

 

I like how many variations we're finding of the so called "international" tiebreaker.

 

There is actually an official version of the rule, published on the IBAF website: http://www.ibaf.org/doc/6b320f3e-137b-4acc-8727-e7b29a55cd89/Extra_Inning_Rule_Change.pdf

 

For those who care, the 10th inning is played normally per OBR. If the game goes into the 11th, then the managers come out and nominate where they'll start their batting orders for the 11th. The 8th and 9th hitters due up in the nominated order start on 2B and 1B respectively. Should the game go into the 12 or more innings, each subsequent inning continues rotating through the batting order as normally happens in OBR, but still with the last two due up on base.

 

I find it a bit funny that unless I missed something, none of the mentioned uses of the rule actually use the rule, but rather a variation of it.

[mstaylor]

Another softball speed up rule is a USSSA slow pitch rule. It's the FlipFlop rule. If you are in the last inning and the visiting team is leading, the home team simply bats their half of the inning. If they catch up then the visiting team becomes the home team and bats the bottom. 

[semper_fi_72]

USSSA uses this rule. Yes it happens quite often, Except we don't play one inning our tournament company makes us play it out.  No ties in pool play or brackets.   I think it makes the game even longer.  Usualy awa teams scores a few and then the home team makes it interesting. 

Your statement that USSSA use this is to broad.

You may use it but we do not in Southern California.

In fact if a game ends in a Tie in Pool Play, it ends in a Tie.

We only play Extra Innings in Playoffs.

[JaxRolo]

USSSA uses this rule. Yes it happens quite often, Except we don't play one inning our tournament company makes us play it out. No ties in pool play or brackets. I think it makes the game even longer. Usualy awa teams scores a few and then the home team makes it interesting.

Your statement that USSSA use this is to broad. You may use it but we do not in Southern California. In fact if a game ends in a Tie in Pool Play, it ends in a Tie. We only play Extra Innings in Playoffs. We don't use it in USSSA in Florida