Usage Details
The rules vary widely, depending on the level of competition, but nearly all youth leagues and high school sports associations, and many college sports associations have mercy rules for sports including baseball, softball, American football (though not college) and soccer. It is common in video game simulations of sports because it helps move the game along.
However, mercy rules usually do not take effect until a prescribed point in the game (e.g., the second half of an Association football game). That means one team, particularly if they are decidedly better than a weaker opponent, can still "run up the score" before the rule takes effect. For instance, in American football, one team could be ahead by 70 points with three minutes left in the first half; in baseball, the better team could have a 20-run lead in the second inning, but the game would continue.
Read more about this topic: Mercy Rule
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