Designated Eddie Rule / Subs

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sixofdiamonds
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Designated Eddie Rule / Subs

Post by sixofdiamonds »

We had a rules situation last week in one of our coed leagues. Here is what happened...

A team with a designated eddie (de) was short one of their female eddies. They had 1 male eddie (me), 2 female eddies (fe), and 1 designated eddie (de). By definition a (de) is any male eddie who can no longer play a position other than catcher can apply to the league for the status of designated eddie. A (de) can be used as a replacement for the mandatory 3rd female in the field at the catcher position only. This (de) status is applicable in any coed leagues in which the (de) plays. A (de) can never take the place of a female eddie in the batting line-up. Designated eddie status is reversible after 1 calendar year (3 full softball seasons).

The team met eddie requirements in the field so playing the field with 10 was perfectly legal. League rule is as follows...

--> FIELDING: At least 3 of the 4 fielding eddies must be female. If a coed team fails to meet eddie fielding requirements, no eddie will be permitted to play the position of catcher (except in the case of a designated eddie) and the team may play with not more than 9 fielders.

The team was going to be short 1 female in the batting line-up so they added a female eddie (fe) sub as the 4th eddie. According to league rules, no batting out need be taken when picking up an eddie sub. League rule is as follows...

--> The coed sub-use rule shall NOT apply to the use of eddie subs unless the eddie sub is added for reasons other than to meet eddie requirements.

I approved both moves. There was a little backlash as a result, so I looked over the rules and decided to make a change. The reason being, no team using a sub (non-roster player) should ever be at full strength. There should always be some sort of team penalty. The team was perfectly legal defensively, but not offensively. Under the current rules, there was no penalty. Under the amended rules, the team will be required to take a batting out.

Here is how the amended rule now reads…

The coed sub-use rule shall NOT apply to the use of eddie subs unless the eddie sub is added for reasons other than to meet eddie requirements OR when a team using a designated eddie (de) adds a 4th eddie to the batting line-up (extra hitter) to meet eddie batting requirements.
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