- Dec 11, 2010
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NCAA Slapper rules are unfair
- Thread starter benjey
- Start date
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If it's any solace to you, I hate slappers, too. Pesky little hitters...
It’s not a rule against slappers. It’s a consistent rule applied to all hitters.
radness
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- Dec 13, 2019
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Well there you go not much of an issue. Good for her!
In theory it applies to all hitters but in practice umps do not look to see if a conventional hitter has a toe over the line. The rule was clearly changed to apply to slappers. More importantly CoachJD said it best
I would add this line=in is true even for the other scenario in the sport where it applies to a player stepping on a line, pitchers and the lane.
Even more odd to me they changed this rule only a few years ago when the shift to an emphasis on the HR was already well under way. Not sure what problem they were trying to solve.
- May 29, 2015
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If you want to mention other sports, name one other sport that still considers a player to be "in bounds" if part of their foot is on the line while the rest/majority of it is out of bounds.
The only one I can think of that would be comparable is volleyball (NFHS, anyway, I don't work other codes). A player can be across the center line as long as they are TOUCHING the center line. The fun part of that rule is that if they lift up the part of the foot ON the line, but if part of the foot is across the line and the rest is above the line, it is a violation, even if the foot does not move on the plane of the court. There are what you call inconsistencies there also ... players must be entirely INSIDE the lines at the time of the serve, but a ball that just catches the line is still in.
If you want to compare to other softball codes, who says the other codes have it right? Personally, I think the other codes have it wrong. Why are we giving the batter a running start AND extra 6+ inches of space? The pitcher cannot get a running start and replant 6 inches closer to the plate.
My opinion, as an umpire, is that it is FAR easier for me to tell if a foot is entirely inside the box than if all of it was outside the box. Still not easy with everything I am watching for, but easier.
The only one I can think of that would be comparable is volleyball (NFHS, anyway, I don't work other codes). A player can be across the center line as long as they are TOUCHING the center line. The fun part of that rule is that if they lift up the part of the foot ON the line, but if part of the foot is across the line and the rest is above the line, it is a violation, even if the foot does not move on the plane of the court. There are what you call inconsistencies there also ... players must be entirely INSIDE the lines at the time of the serve, but a ball that just catches the line is still in.
If you want to compare to other softball codes, who says the other codes have it right? Personally, I think the other codes have it wrong. Why are we giving the batter a running start AND extra 6+ inches of space? The pitcher cannot get a running start and replant 6 inches closer to the plate.
My opinion, as an umpire, is that it is FAR easier for me to tell if a foot is entirely inside the box than if all of it was outside the box. Still not easy with everything I am watching for, but easier.
- May 29, 2015
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- 113
A.) Yes, we do and this change makes it easier to catch that also. Again, not the easiest thing in the world to see. When a defensive coach hollers about the batter being a smidge out of the box (or a mile byt their description), the first thought in a plate umpire's mind is "do you want me to watch the foot or the ball?"
B.) The problem was hitters that were getting away with being much further in front of the plate and gaining more of an advantage than "the game" was willing to tolerate. Making a simple change of which side of the line they have to be on is enough to raise awareness (for hitters and umpires) and make it easier to call.
Another thing to add about NCAA umps making that call -- if you watch enough games, you will see the field umpires are starting to make this call more often. Once again, it is much easier for them to see if any of the foot comes out than if any of it may have stayed in contact.
The NCAA is trying to find the magic formula that makes fastpitch more popular.
Pitching was dominant in the 1990s. So, they moved the pitching rubber back 3 feet and changed the color of the ball so that the batters could see it better. They made the ball livelier. With better bats and better training, hitters began pounding the ball. Hitters started wearing body armor so they are not very scared of an inside pitch. The NCAA gave the hitters every advantage possible, and now the games are slug-fests.
The solution should be to move the fences back 20 feet or so, but that would require athletic departments to spend a ton of money.
So, rather than do that, they changed the rule about slappers.
- May 29, 2015
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Not only the fences, but I've advocated for moving the bases back 10 feet for almost two decades now.
The only people who listen to me though are you guys. You ... you do listen to me, right?
The only people who listen to me though are you guys. You ... you do listen to me, right?
200' fences in the NCAA are a joke. My HS field has 220' fences. The bases might slow the game down too much and make it more like baseball.
