- May 27, 2013
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So are you saying they put this girl out there, knowing she’d likely get called on it, just to hope that a rule change will follow? Not caring about the outcome of an elimination game??
Well with umpires that are 50/50 they don't know for sure she would be called on it. Certainly isn't the first time that type of thing happen.So are you saying they put this girl out there, knowing she’d likely get called on it, just to hope that a rule change will follow? Not caring about the outcome of an elimination game??
Illegal pitches can still be hit. I do not think what the pitcher does legally or not dictates who wins the game.
There are far more inconsistencies with umpire's calling ball & strikes than anything else in the game.When it puts girls on base who actually struck out and caused bases to be loaded and caused a run to be walked in (as happened in this particular game) then yes, it can totally dictate a game. That run and the next run that scored on a WP (by the new pitcher) were both runs that reached base due to IP being called. The game was lost by one run (2-3).
Bill, if this was the cause why aren't all pitchers leaping then?The rule will be changed, eventually. It has to. Pitchers only started leaping and hopping to combat the growing advantages the hitters had with polycore balls, composite bats, slapping, and smaller strikezones. I'm not justifying it, I'm just explaining it. That's how and why it started.
This whole thing is like watching a 2nd act of the men's fastpitch world. This exact problem started in the 1980's. Umpires would call IP's and people complained. Then they allowed the "leap" to appease the players and that turned into the wild west where we have no rules in men's FP except "don't throw overhand". That's basically the only rule in North America men's softball.
Looking ahead in my crystal ball: once they allow the leap, which they will, then everyone will start complaining that Sally isn't leaping... she's crow hopping. But umpires who can barely get things right now, will be forced to distinguish if a pitcher is leaping or crow hopping. Many umps will get that wrong too. I'm not trying to bash umpires, but my students come to me week after week saying they were called Illegal for things like not "presenting the ball" (which isn't a rule) and umpires confusing the start back vs. step back. Not only are the multiple rules confusing the players, but the umps are getting lost too. These are basic things, not complicated opinions like if a pitcher is replanting or not. And of course, coaches can't say anything because there's an umpire shortage and we need all the umps we can get.... even if they don't know the rules.
From experience, I grew up learning to pitch in the 1980's with 1 foot on the rubber and no real restrictions on jumping, replanting, etc. So, I watched what my hero's were doing and many of them were not just jumping from the rubber, they were BUSTING off there with extreme power. Many of them went airborne as they did this. So, wanting to emulate them, I did that too. Then, October 1990, I landed in New Zealand for my first season there and had to pitch with 2 feet on the rubber and very restrictive rules. NZ used the international rules for pitching, which were the same for men and women. These rules were the same as what girls had to use 3 years ago, before being allowed to have 1 foot on the rubber. Well, I had never done that before and I had to almost relearn how to pitch, while facing world class hitters. So to say changing one's pitching doesn't happen overnight is an understatement!!
If it slides forward before the push then yes, and that isn't hard to see as an umpire.What I'd like to know is if you'd consider this illegal. The pitcher started with her foot on the rubber and slid it forward before pushing off. For the record, the umpire never called it, but she did it in every single pitch.