How long does the pitcher have to release the ball?

[riseball]

after hands come together, for 1-10seconds, the pitcher must immediately deliver the pitch.
maybe that was why you thought 10 seconds?

I've been thinking about this lately...

My DD tends to like to work quickly,
and often times shes taken the plate only to wait for the batter to set.
Sometimes, her hands are already together, while waiting, and thus hands have been together for more than 10 seconds.
So, I told her to not bring hands together until Umpire signals for the pitch.

My initial thought was to have her hang behind the plate, until batter is set in the box,
and then step on the plate and deliver the pitch.

But as I watched a bunch of NCAA games this week and last,
i see this is a bit of a cat-and-mouse game.

Take FLA ST. pitcher Meghan King.
She likes to work FAST. Always on the plate waiting for the batter.
And batters tend to take their sweet 'ol time getting ready - probably to try and throw off her preference for a quick rhythm.

Other pitchers wont take the plate, until the batter is entirely in the box.

So, I suppose either approach is fine.
Whichever your pitcher is most comfortable with.

But I tend to lean toward staying off the plate until Batter is set.
A pitcher can't IP until they take the plate, and can't reasonably be subject to the 20sec rule,
if the umpire is allowing batters to exit the box between pitches, and take their sweet' ol time re-setting...

Stay off the pitchers plate! Have yet to have a pitcher that I needed to speed up and I have yet to have one that I did need to slow down. I strongly encourage having her wait until the batter assumes the position prior to getting the signal, then proceed to the pitchers plate. I say this for a couple of reasons. First it helps slow her down. Second how do you, the catcher, or anyone call a pitch if you have no idea where the batter is in the box? However, the hardest part is to get them to do what is needed between when they get the signal and break their hands. This is where pitchers end up rushing, failing to commit, visualize, etc. This is one of many reasons why I really like using arm bands for pitch calling. Pitcher gets signal behind plate and catcher gets signal while standing allowing the catcher to control the pitchers tempo if needed. Great when you have an experienced catcher and noob pitcher.

 

[3afan]

Actually saw an umpire call a ball on the batter a couple of times this weekend when the pitcher did not deliver a pitch within the allotted 20 seconds.

I called that on a HS pitcher last year ... when she gave her coach a "WHAT?!?!?!?" look the coach said "well pitch the ball!".

 

[JAD]

I called that on a HS pitcher last year ... when she gave her coach a "WHAT?!?!?!?" look the coach said "well pitch the ball!".

Most pitchers are well within the 20 seconds, and when there is a problem there is a 98.2% chance it is in the dugout with the coach trying to figure out which pitch to call, and then relaying the pitch into the catcher, who then looks at her wristband before giving the signal to the pitcher who then has to look at her wristband...

 

[GunnerShotgun]

USFA: "the pitcher shall bring her hands together in front of the body for not less than one second and not more than 10 seconds before she releases the ball." (only reference on time I could find)
USSSA: Once the ball has been returned to the pitcher to prepare for the next pitch or the Umpire says “play”, the pitcher has 20 seconds to release the next pitch.
ASA: The pitcher has 20 seconds to release the next pitch after receiving the ball or after the umpire indicates "play ball."
NSA: When the pitcher fails to pitch within ten (10) seconds.
PGF/HS: 20 Seconds

 

[Crabby_Bob]

20 seconds is a long time. Not surprised this isn't called much. You would seriously have to be delaying for this. Is this the same for NCAA?

Not the same. Batter must be in the batter's box, catcher in catcher's box, and pitcher on the plate within 10 seconds. After all are in position, 10 seconds for pitcher to bring the hands together, and then, not more than five seconds to deliver the pitch.

 

[Dabears17]

It can be an effective tactic as a pitcher to get the batter impatient. At a tournament Memorial Day weekend I finally took out my phone to see how long the pitcher was taking between pitches because I was sure it was longer than 20 seconds. It was 14 to 15 seconds.