I have a call in to a good friend of mine who played youth baseball and might be able to add a data point on intentional walks in real life.
The rules seem to indicate they are permitted, although the catcher cannot step out of the catcher’s box until the pitcher delivers the ball. In other words, he can’t setup outside the box and call for an intentional walk.
Garfield226 provided the quotes in post 206 http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7677888&postcount=206
It more than satisfied me, I will let you review them on your own.
Jim
Apologies if I missed this above, but…
…do we know that the opposing coach even KNEW the kid was a cancer survivor? Were there scouting reports with details like “#5 batter had cancer treatments, cost him major bat speed?”
So it’s okay for you try to win by throwing to a player who wants you to, even with the expectation they’ll fail? How is that different from pitching to Romney, who presumably wants to be pitched to (else he wouldn’t be playing the first place)? If your catcher hadn’t bobbled it, she presumably would have saved a run from scoring and been the hero, no? If Romney had connected, he’d’ve won the game and been a hero, no?
You’re describing a standard of behaviour that is okay when you do it, but dishonourable when others do it. Classic hypocrisy.
Please point to the one that says “I’ve seen the intentional walk used in little leagues.” All of those suggest that they are not always prohibited by rule.
I can offer another data point. I just talked to a guy in the office who is hugely involved in youth baseball. He, in fact, didn’t disagree with the coach involved in the current OP. On the other hand, he never saw an intentional walk used in little league. He did see it used in American Legion ball for children over 13, which is very much a competitive league.
You’re moving the goalposts here, Hentor. Very dishonorable.
Your original post did not mention “acceptably.”
You simply said no one else used it, anywhere.
Also, my apologies: I missed where Lissa differentiated her husband’s experience with intentional walks from his little league coaching. I’m man enough to apologize when I’m wrong. Your turn.
He says he didn’t, his mom says he did since he had coached him previously in basketball. I find it’s likely he knew at one point, and IMO it’s also likely he forgot.
You are correct that I didn’t say “acceptably” beforehand. I think that the point of Lissa’s post was to say that the one time it was seen, it was so unacceptable to everyone that people were outraged and new rules were subsequently written. You lisleadingly cited this augment your argument about whether people have seen intentional walks. I see it as evidence that people do not regard the use of intentional walks as acceptable, and when it was seen, it was stopped.
What Exit?, do you think the anecdote supports my contention that people do not see intentional walks used in reality, or Garfield226’s contention that they do? I’ll abide by your opinion.
Garfield226, which of your other five cites actually says that people have seen it used?
He says he did not, and would not have walked the batter had he’d known.
But they WERE used, which was all you required before you started moving the goalposts. Right?
In that particular anecdote, they were used unacceptably. I have absolutely no problem admitting that. Again, that wasn’t a requirement of your original statement. Also: That anecdote does not reflect (as you noted) little league at all, nor little league in general.
None, which is why I said at the beginning I wouldn’t put words in their mouths. I was presenting them as evidence that people who were involved in little league found them acceptable, and hoped (still do) that some may clarify their postitions since you asked your question.
For someone who hates that the coach was within the letter of the rules to do what he did, you sure do enjoy arguing over semantics when it benefits your position.
“Acceptably” was implied.
It was just unwritten. 
I played little league baseball for 6 years, between the ages of 8 and 13. I didn’t play on traveling teams, because I wasn’t good enough, so I was playing in leagues with widely varying skill levels like the one we’re talking about. I played on one team where one of our batters was regularly intentionally walked by multiple other teams in the league. It was an accepted thing, and the game just continued as nothing untoward had happened.
Is that clear enough, or am I lying too?
Apart from being a bit of a prick there at the end, I know nothing about you to feel like you’re lying, so I take your anecdote to indicate that it is sometimes used in other places. How old were you at that time?
The same kid was on my teams when we were 11 and 12. He was always bigger and stronger than most of us, and he was walked intentionally occasionally at 11. Between 11 and 12, he grew into an adult’s body - he looked like a high school kid playing with seventh graders. He tried out for the traveling team, but he hadn’t quite figured out where his arms and legs ended yet, so he was back in our league. He was a poor fielder and a clumsy runner, but he could mash the ball.
I thought these were the facts:
(bolding mine)
I can’t seem to find it now, but I thought I read a post last night that said that the coach was backpedaling on his claim that he didn’t know Romney had cancer. maybe I imagiined it.
Yeah, I must have mistaken something I read here for something that was in the story. Thanks for clearing it up.
Just talked to my buddy, who is a veteran of much youth baseball.
He says:
[indent]I don’t remember any specific incident where an intentional walk was used. But I remember us using them in general, and not always to bypass a strong hitter in favor of a wekaer one. For example, with a runner on second and two outs, we might walk the up batter to create a force-out situation play at third; if the ball was a grounder to third the third baseman could simply touch the bag to end the inning. Intentional walks were common; we knew about them; we used them, both in championship and regualr play.
[/quote]
I organize/manage two adult leagues of a different sport, but with some parallel controversies, so I’m interested in the league’s role in all this. If their written rules don’t support their goals, or their goals aren’t well defined, then shame on the league. Otherwise, if the parents signed up their kids without being on board with the league’s goals, then shame on the parents.
I agree that none of the cites actually indicate that an IBB was seen except Lissa’s. Garfield226, already *apologized * for using **Lissa’s ** post out of context. I still think that calling **Garfield226 ** a liar is not appropriate to what I have seen in this thread.
Jim
Assuming that it weren’t explicitly against the rules, what about the time honored tradition of a catcher messing with a batter’s head? As a coach, would you have encouraged your catcher to torment Romney?