Did she leave too soon? You make the call

[Eric F]

Tough call??? Did you watch the slowed-down clip I posted??? She is clearly off the bag when the ball is over the pitcher's head, just past 12:00. That's way early.

In slo-mo, sure. At full speed, I couldn't see it definitively enough to make the call for sure.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

Like Westwind mentioned earlier, I think she worked the umpire positioning. She wasn't early on the first steal with a BU in good position to watch her. I didn't see a BU in a good position to watch her on the second one, so it was probably up to the PU to catch her.

 

[Greenmonsters]

If you can't make that call at full speed, you've got no business being on the field IMO.

 

[slingnit]

Leave early until you get caught. Then leave less early.

 

[42'sdad]

We tell our girls, if the other teams parents aren't complaining, you're not leaving early enough

 

[JAD]

Tough call??? Did you watch the slowed-down clip I posted??? She is clearly off the bag when the ball is over the pitcher's head, just past 12:00. That's way early.

How long does it take for a college pitcher's arm motion to go from 12:00 to 6:00 release? It is a fraction of a second, which is why umpires are hesitant to call it. It is easy to see in slow motion video, but in real time how many things is the field umpire trying to watch at once - runners leaving early, illegal pitches, batter check swings.....

 

[Greenmonsters]

How long does it take for a college pitcher's arm motion to go from 12:00 to 6:00 release? It is a fraction of a second, which is why umpires are hesitant to call it. It is easy to see in slow motion video, but in real time how many things is the field umpire trying to watch at once - runners leaving early, illegal pitches, batter check swings.....

We've already established that IPs aren't being called. Check swings happen approx. 0.5 seconds after release. Hitters need to decide and initiate swing actions in approx. 0.15 seconds. Yes it does depend on the game situation (i.e., umpires' positioning w/ runners on base and prioritized responsibilities), but if an umpire can't distinguish a runner leaving that early they have no business being involved in a NCAA game.

 

[GoHeels]

Ironic...I posted a screen shot of this video back in 2012. Thread below.

http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-discussions/11388-stealing-bases-timing.html