Wild pitch vs passed ball

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Dec 2, 2014
4
1
The "lazy catcher" thread along with my dd's last game prompted me to seek advice on this topic. My dd is a freshman getting some catching time on varsity. One of their pitchers throws maybe 50 mph & her change up is a peel drop. This past game, she struggled getting the ball to the mitt. It hit the dirt just past the plate, too far for my dd to safely reach in (up to 3 in a row). Some of them she successfully blocked but the ones she didn't were scored as passed balls. Game is scored on GameChanger & open to the public.

From the comments in the "lazy catcher" thread & most of my research, I think they should be scored as wild pitches. My first question is...do you all agree?

Secondly, has anyone had a successful experience trying to educate the scorekeeper or head coach on the difference? (Head coach's daughter was a pitcher in hs)

Unfortunately, in this team sport, when scoring, someone has to be assigned the "blame". I think anything I say will come across as making excuses for my dd. I just wish for every "you gotta block those" they would shout out "you gotta hit the mitt".
 
Dec 19, 2012
1,428
0
We would need to see video to determine whether the pitches should have been caught with normal effort.
 
Nov 23, 2014
84
0
I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'm watching this thread. The way I look at it is, if that change up hits the dirt in front of my DD she needs to block it. I think they are passed balls. Not sure if I am correct.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
I am going the other way, if it hits the dirt it is on the P.

C can block it and bail them out but it would be on the P if she doesn't.

(Like OP HC, DD is a pitcher. She has never thrown a wild pitch in her life, lot of passed balls though)
 
Last edited:
Dec 2, 2014
4
1
That's the comment I was waiting for...normal effort.
So there is no such thing as ball in the dirt=wild pitch?
Does the definition vary depending on the sanctioning body?
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
There does need to be some judgment as to what ordinary effort is. If it the ball is bouncing behind the plate that should handled with ordinary effort, get on your knees, put your glove between your legs and lean forward I would score it a passed ball. If it is off to the side or bouncing in front off the plate then you can start considering wild pitches.

but as previously mentioned HC DD don't throw WP only PB ;)
 
Last edited:
Apr 26, 2015
704
43
My DD is a catcher and this drives me crazy. Last fall we had a parent who didn't like ME doing the score keeping. EVERY single time my DD didn't have the ball in her glove it was scored as a passed ball. Our pitcher was new and very wild. There was no way my DD - even as fast and athletic as she is - could stop or block all of them. This spring the scorekeeper doesn't like the pitcher so most everything is a wild pitch. At this point we all just roll our eyes. Thankfully the girls are only 12U and the coach knows where the problem lies.
 
Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
NCAA rules: ''Generally, a pitch that hits the ground before touching the catcher’s glove is scored as a wild pitch.''

Which leaves the door open to judgment, but it would have to be extraordinary, IMO, like the pitch rolling up there at 20 mph and failing to stop it, something that makes everybody in the house say, 'OMG, how did she not stop that?'
 
Jul 16, 2008
1,520
48
Oregon
Funny how people think things should be scored. Take a great 1B, she digs most of the balls out of the dirt but those that she can't dig... who gets the error? Of course the player that threw the ball, should be no different with PB vs WP.

To me any ball that hits the dirt and gets by the C should be scored as WP. Now say if the P has a great rise, and it tips off the C glove... then PB
 

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