halskinner
Banned
- May 7, 2008
- 2,637
- 0
A thread was started in the pitching forum. The poster wanted to know if people taught pitchers to pitch with open mechancis and why or why not.
When I was still pitching I taught the closed mechanics. My response on that thread was definitely on the lines of rules questions so I thought I would post it here for opinions also. My response was, and they always are, just an old pitcher's opinion.
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The rulebooks all say you must bring the hands together in front. You are allowed to bring the ball 'Down and to the rear', there is no allowance that says you are allowed to bring the ball AND the glove down and to the rear.
The pitching regulations are very specific. The tell you what a pitcher is required to do, what they are allowed to do and what actions they are specifically NOT allowed to do. Any other thing/s they do that is not specifically outlined and addressed in the regulations becomes a matter of a 'Judgement call' for the officials.
Whether an umpire would ever call a pitcher for bringing the glove and the ball back behind the straight up and down line of the body, that is a different issue all together.
Just as the pitcher's feet must be in contact with the rubber until the start of the pitch (until the hands separate), this can also be an issue of legality with the open mechanics. I have seen many young pitchers with open mechanics bring the glove and ball back to the rear and start the stride foot coming forward BEFORE the hands actually separate and the pitch begins. Another technicality that never gets enforced.
I have no problem with a pitcher bringing the glove and ball back to the side, as long as the glove does NOT go behind the hip.
Just a few things to think about.
I think this is going to open up a seperate bunch of opinions on rules interpretations. So I am also goung to use this response to open up a new thread in the rules category.
When I was still pitching I taught the closed mechanics. My response on that thread was definitely on the lines of rules questions so I thought I would post it here for opinions also. My response was, and they always are, just an old pitcher's opinion.
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Which do you prefer/use/teach? When taking the ball back during the wind up, do you keep it in the glove(hillhouse) or do you seperate the ball from the glove first? Thanks!
The rulebooks all say you must bring the hands together in front. You are allowed to bring the ball 'Down and to the rear', there is no allowance that says you are allowed to bring the ball AND the glove down and to the rear.
The pitching regulations are very specific. The tell you what a pitcher is required to do, what they are allowed to do and what actions they are specifically NOT allowed to do. Any other thing/s they do that is not specifically outlined and addressed in the regulations becomes a matter of a 'Judgement call' for the officials.
Whether an umpire would ever call a pitcher for bringing the glove and the ball back behind the straight up and down line of the body, that is a different issue all together.
Just as the pitcher's feet must be in contact with the rubber until the start of the pitch (until the hands separate), this can also be an issue of legality with the open mechanics. I have seen many young pitchers with open mechanics bring the glove and ball back to the rear and start the stride foot coming forward BEFORE the hands actually separate and the pitch begins. Another technicality that never gets enforced.
I have no problem with a pitcher bringing the glove and ball back to the side, as long as the glove does NOT go behind the hip.
Just a few things to think about.
I think this is going to open up a seperate bunch of opinions on rules interpretations. So I am also goung to use this response to open up a new thread in the rules category.
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