Move 3 Feet, a perspective on changes to the game.

[quincy]

Padishah Emperor

Had to Google this one.

 

[JOHNN]

Like any rule in any game you just adapt. This is especially true on easy to officiate rules like this where it's just 3 feet back. If you moved the bases to 65 feet it would just change things a little bit but coaches would just adapt.

I think itd actually be a good thing if those in the ivory tower are truly worried about player safety.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Had to Google this one.

Thank you for admitting it . . . I probably would have had to look it up also, but I just started reading the book. It was my mom's favorite book when I was growing up, but I had never read it. It was like comic books and a lot of Shakespeare: I hadn't read much of it, but for some reason I had a good amount of knowledge of it.

 

[dogpatch]

Serious question!
Thought to ask how many people
on this forum were around when pitching was moved back 3 ft?
40' to 43'

This was a giant massive change in the game that affected players at the 14u level and up.

Discussions about that at training facilities and at the field was everywhere regarding this change to the game!
People were stunned and shocked this would happen! How are pitchers going to make that adjustment?
This is going to throw off hitting!
Some people were on board with it seeing it's relevancy and others just couldn't imagine the game being altered that much.
But guess what?!...
All the players figured it out and softball moved along.
That 3 ft became a non-topic.

Pitching distance changed for high school starting with the 2010-11 school year. The change definitely affected the balance of the game, with hitters becoming more competitive when facing elite pitchers. At 40', truly elite pitchers could easily dominate entire 7 inning games, and repeat it game after game. At 43', elite pitchers still dominate, but good hitters do have a better chance, especially as games progress into those late innings. The change has had a very positive effect on the game. In our area, middle school has also made the change. 13/14 year-old pitchers do struggle a bit more, but not enough to say the change was bad for them. It has certainly enabled middle school hitters to have more fun hitting!