The wrath of youth baseball

Might be fun to do a "Where are they now?" feature on your town's youth baseball stars from 25 years ago.

 

Yeah, I have 3 nieces playing 'semi-travel' softball this year (games within about a 40-mile radius) and they all have the all-must-bat rule.

In the 8U league, it makes sense, but in 12U (7th grade going into 8th) it can lead to some ridiculous situations.

In any case the rule should allow the umpire to make exceptions if a player has an "obvious physical condition" which makes their continued play medically questionable.

A player removed from the field after being HBP (or other possible concussion situation), after vomiting or other signs of apparent overheating/dehydration, should never be in a situation in which they are pressured to play even if not fully recovered.

In a case where a kid is removed from the field for medical reasons, their spot in the batting order should just go dead, not become an automatic out.

I'd put in a rule that any player removed from the field for reasons of physical condition must miss at least one plate appearance before returning to the lineup (and could not appear in the field before returning to the batting order). A player seeking to re-enter would have to pass at least cursory examination by the umpire that they were fit for play.