Blowing on Hand
- Thread starter Sting Ray
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Unfortunately questions like this often result in "well when I was at...the umpire said..." Why would blowing on the hand be illegal?
A pitcher's breath (unless they something with a lot of garlic, jalapenos, etc.
prior to taking the field) is not an illegal substance.
A pitcher's breath (unless they something with a lot of garlic, jalapenos, etc.
prior to taking the field) is not an illegal substance.
My DD was called for an IP for just such a transgression at 18U ASA Nationals this year.
I would have liked to have seen the rule book citation (after the game of course) for that call. Unless something has changed, "A pitcher who licks their fingers, must wipe them off before bringing them in contact with the ball" is not the same as blowing on your fingers.
Obviously if the pitcher puts her hand very close to the mouth it does probably look like she's licking her fingers...so to be safe I guess she should always wipe the hand even though she knows she didn't do anything wrong...
I did not go there, we let it go. Even the opposing team had a good laugh. There were 2 outs, nobody on and she got the K on the next pitch.
- Jun 22, 2008
- 3,438
- 48
There is no such rule, never has been. Even the requirement to wipe one's fingers (which is not enforceable) is absolutely ridiculous as it will have no, zero, nil, nada, zip affect on the ball.
Yup. DD knows to wipe her hand if she touches or appears to touch anything other than the ball.
Might want to let the ASA National Umpire School staff know that...because it was definitely stressed when I went...
- Jun 22, 2008
- 3,438
- 48
If you are referring to the enforcement, they can stress all they want, but are you going to run up to the pitcher every time she goes to her mouth and check to see if she wiped it off before pitching the ball?
The rule is over-reaching. The rule is about applying a foreign substance to the ball, not one's fingers. Why is a resin allowed to be added to the hand, but you cannot wet your fingers? Is there any requirement to wipe the fingers after using rosin or drying agent? The answer is no. And if a damp finger is such a problem, why are the games not stopped immediately when it rains?
IMO, it is just an unnecessary rule that people are afraid to do get rid of, but really don't know why they need it
