VA Atlantic Kickball - Summer 2017 - Week 3

News

With week 3 complete we're now halfway through the regular season. Teams are beginning to establish themselves and a few surprises have emerged in the standings.

The league is still crushing post-game at Bucketheads. It's a short season but let's celebrate with some free pitchers for teams this week!

Game Recaps

[ Scores ] [ Standings ]

Social Events

[ Standings and Info ]

Third week and again over 50 players at the bar! I don't know if this has ever happened before on Monday night but it's incredible.

• Bar Attendance
  Fusion, Pandas, and UNITY brought their bar game, all three having 10 or more! BBYM, KR4K, and Smashers showed up with 5 or more players while BBYS was there for third consecutive week.
  
  
• Bar Game - Beer Pong
  So maybe not really Beer Pong with Virginia's ridiculous alcohol laws but that didn't stop every team from getting in on the action. Few of the games were quick but some took absolutely FOREVER to complete. There's a joke to be made about balls in holes there somewhere. In the end it was UNITY who cruised through each round and ended up the winner after defeating KR4K in a decisive victory.
  
  
• Weekly Challenge - Ref Love (Photo)
  Every team except BBYS and Smashers got in on the Ref Love photo challenge. The remaining five teams went above and beyond except Fusion who pretty much phoned it in. Making my job harder, some teams actually had more than one great entry because of their double headers. In the end only three make it out alive as this week's winners.
  
  
  • 1st - Pandas snagged first place and there wasn't much of a second thought. From the proposals with BBYM to the tiaras for UNITY they crushed it.
    
    
    
    
    
  • 2nd - Picking a second place winner was much more difficult but I couldn't stop laughing every time I saw UNITY's photo.
    
    
    
    
    
  • 3rd - BBYM won the gift battle over KR4K with their Bed Bath & Beyond themed offerings.
    
    
    
    
    
• League Support
  Field breakdown is quickly turning into a post-game competition. The race was on again with BBYS, Fusion, KR4K, and Pandas all collecting points.

After back to back weekly wins it's time for a change...Pandas and UNITY each scored 9 points to share the crown this week. Pandas was powered by Ref Love while UNITY took the bar game path instead. The overall race is still incredibly close with Fusion and UNITY tied for first but leading by just two points over KR4K and Pandas! BBYM isn't far behind and only one strong week away from being in the hunt.

Photos from Week 3!

About Those Rules

The mystery and intrigue of the "Hands Up" rule.

10.07 Base Running on Overthrows;
a. an overthrow is a ball thrown, kicked, or deflected into foul territory while making a defensive play toward a player or base;
b. a runner may advance only one base beyond the base the runner is on or running toward when the ball travels into foul territory;
c. one base on an overthrow is a restriction on the runner – not an automatic right for the runner to advance;
d. if any fielder attempts to make an out prior to returning the ball to the pitcher, runners may commence base running.

First it's important to know what an overthrow is and this is defined by 10.07a. The key here is that the ball must be played toward a player or base AND make it's way into foul territory. The most typical scenarios are a throw to 1st/3rd base or someone trying to hit a runner with the ball while they're going to/from 1st, 3rd, or home. You'll never see this rule applicable at 2nd base because any overthrows are going to be in fair territory.

Second is understanding when the rule is active and this is defined by 10.07d which states "if ANY fielder attempts to make an out prior to returning the ball to the pitcher". Ten of your players can have their hands up and be screaming "Hands Up!" but if that last one is running the ball down attempting to continue play then the base runners can continue to run the bases. Ultimately this is a judgement call by the referee as to if anyone is continuing play.

The final determination and sometimes the hardest is where runners end up. Rules 10.07b and 10.07c combine to cover this. First and foremost the runner is ultimately limited to a max of just one base from where they are at when the ball crosses into foul territory. Runner on 1st going to 2nd and the ball is overthrown before they get to 2nd? They can't go past 3rd. It's also important to note that the extra base is NOT automatic. Same scenario above but the runner stops on 2nd? They don't get to automatically go to 3rd. With something this complex there will be nuances but in the end it's a judgement call by the referee.

What's on Tap - Week 4

[ Schedule ]

• 6:30 PM
• Lot:  BBYS vs. Smashers  (Ref UNITY)
• Swamp:  KR4K vs. Pandas  (Ref UNITY)
• Tennis:  BBYM vs. Fusion  (Ref UNITY)
• 7:30 PM
• Lot:  BBYS vs. BBYM  (Ref KR4K)
• Swamp:  Smashers vs. Pandas  (Ref KR4K)
• Tennis:   Fusion vs. UNITY  (Ref KR4K)
• Weekly Challenge:  Cowboy/Hillbilly (Theme)
• Bar Game:  Trivia