The Kelly Barnhill Thread

[RubberBiscuit]

Replanting does not increase pitch speed, but the pitcher is essentially throwing from @ 3' closer to the batter, which decreases the batters reaction time. It is like throwing from 40' vs. 43'....

Correct that she is closer - incorrect in that replanting DOES give the ability to throw faster

 

[JAD]

She is on the line from what I can see so it is legal I believe but she is pushing the boundary for sure to your point. It is really close! However, the bigger thing is the replanting that sticks out to me. With that said, I am definitely in the camp that the replant is an advantage. I used to burst the blood vessels in my head when I saw girls pitching with incredible velocity doing this. However, now I am officially subscribing to this as the way men "naturally" pitch and someone somewhere decided that women should be held back from doing it. I don't know why this was done but IMO it was forced on women (girls) that they should not be allowed to crow hop. Yet, men can do it all day long and it is okay, and would argue that it is more natural, less destructive to the body, etc. etc. I see Barnhill, Silkwood, Carda last year, and many more ( I can't think of all the names right now) doing it. They clearly did not develop these mechanics AFTER they got into college but were recruited because of them and/or their ability to throw HARD, spin the ball, change their speed, etc. etc. In other words, they were NOT overlooked because they replanted. The were recruited to big time D1 schools.

I personally think it is a tough question to answer as a parent. What do you do? Are you tired of watching other girls throw a ton faster with these mechanics? Do you keep telling yourself that I will stick to the rules within the game although my DD will clearly not throw as hard as those who don't? It is a tough question to ask yourself in my opinion.

With all that said, I realize everyone has their opinion and this is an area of great debate. I simply share my thoughts of what I do believe is an advantage not to try to encourage anyone else to change their beliefs.

All that said, Silkwood, who is a "skippy" was pulled tonight in the first. She was clearly off tonight, but wouldn't have been there in the first place without her mechanics.

I think everyone agrees that replanting is an advantage, the question becomes is the advantage increased pitch speed, shorter pitching distance, or both....

 

[JAD]

When in doubt I look to MLB. Outfielders use a crow hop and I don't think they do it to gain accuracy. crow hop=speed.

Would a MLB pitcher throw faster off a pitching rubber or doing a crow hop in the outfield?

 

[marriard]

Correct that she is closer - incorrect in that replanting DOES give the ability to throw faster

Funny how Barnhill can get to 70+ when she fully leaps out and throws around 63-65mph when she doesn't.

The games I saw a few weeks ago from Barnhill looked like she tries to stay fairly legal early and when she gets in trouble or needs some extra speed then she goes back to the leap/replant.

 

[Boomers2012]

This is off topic but has anyone noticed to amazing amount of overlap she gets??!! Simply amazing. We talk about drive mechanics and obtaining great overlap to ensure great whip. If I have ever seen an example that totally "clicks" for my DD the .gif on the first page of this thread is it. Ya, she does do some semi-illegal things but wow, what a good .gif to learn from as it pertains to overlap. Thanks for posting it!

 

[NVfishing]

My DD has been called a lot for IP. Not a crow hop but she would twist her foot so her toe pointed outward. We've worked a lot on keeping the toe down this winter.

 

[JAD]

Funny how Barnhill can get to 70+ when she fully leaps out and throws around 63-65mph when she doesn't.

The games I saw a few weeks ago from Barnhill looked like she tries to stay fairly legal early and when she gets in trouble or needs some extra speed then she goes back to the leap/replant.

She tries to get ahead in the count, then she will heat one up. Very rare to see her throw 70 on a 3 ball count.

 

[marriard]

She tries to get ahead in the count, then she will heat one up. Very rare to see her throw 70 on a 3 ball count.

Haven't seen a game of hers in a few weeks, so this is a change from early in the season. Makes sense - even if she gets called for an IP she was up in the count so the damage is somewhat limited.

 

[JAD]

Haven't seen a game of hers in a few weeks, so this is a change from early in the season. Makes sense - even if she gets called for an IP she was up in the count so the damage is somewhat limited.

How many IPs was she called for this season? Very few are called during the regular season, then in the WCWS it suddenly becomes an issue. IPs are also rare in HS or TB. The few that I have seen called were for the pitchers toe losing contact with the pitching plate, breaking her hands then going back to the glove, or not pausing after bringing her hands together. In the 9 years I have been going to the ball park with my DD, I think I have seen one IP for leaping....and my DD has faced Kelly Barnhill several times!

 

[marriard]

How many IPs was she called for this season? Very few are called during the regular season, then in the WCWS it suddenly becomes an issue. IPs are also rare in HS or TB. The few that I have seen called were for the pitchers toe losing contact with the pitching plate, breaking her hands then going back to the glove, or not pausing after bringing her hands together. In the 9 years I have been going to the ball park with my DD, I think I have seen one IP for leaping....and my DD has faced Kelly Barnhill several times!

They started clamping down on leaping in 10U/12U/14U in South Florida a couple of years ago in an attempt to limit the next generation for whatever reason. They called it pretty steadily for about 12 months and it has actually worked - the majority of the pitchers we see in 16U and down are actually legal. Following the rules has probably hurt us when competing out of the area where we face pitchers who were not called.

It annoys the hell out of me that the governing bodies continue to just punt this issue year after year.