Then you'd have too many strikeouts, IMO. ... In the SEC this season, batters are striking out 1 in 6 at-bats.
Time to move the fences or build taller ones....
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Then you'd have too many strikeouts, IMO. ... In the SEC this season, batters are striking out 1 in 6 at-bats.
You answered it yourself.
Not answering for Richk. JMHO.
Thought that was hitting behind a corner.
We might need a 'hitting terminology' thread.
- Dec 13, 2014
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A 191 ft fly ball should no way be a HR. These are grown women with dangerous weapons.
The strike zone is brutal. The ball is 4 inches in diameter. It seems like the entire ball has to be in the strike zone to be called a strike. If the top of the ball hits knee level should it be a strike ? Yes. Is it ever called a strike ? No. Same with the edges of the plate. And the HBP rules are a joke. Florida's HBP stats are a mockery to the sport. With the current rules, fences, and strike zone the scores can only keep going in one direction.
The strike zone is brutal. The ball is 4 inches in diameter. It seems like the entire ball has to be in the strike zone to be called a strike. If the top of the ball hits knee level should it be a strike ? Yes. Is it ever called a strike ? No. Same with the edges of the plate. And the HBP rules are a joke. Florida's HBP stats are a mockery to the sport. With the current rules, fences, and strike zone the scores can only keep going in one direction.
FWIW The NJCAA uses a lower compression ball than the NCAA, NFHS, and all the other ABC's and you cannot tell watching a game other than the ball does not sail out of the park. 
- Nov 29, 2009
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The NCAA did not technically "change" the strike zone. What they did was change how a strike is called at the top and bottom of the strike zone. Prior to 2008 it used to be any part of the ball passing through the top and bottom of the strike zone was a strike. They changed the rule to the entire ball must be in the strike zone at the top and bottom of the zone. In essence, they have shrunk the height of the strike zone by 4 ball widths. That's huge for a pitcher. I know my DD went to using her screwball more in her senior year because of the rule change. Then the NCAA changed the HBP rule and took that away from the pitchers. Glad my DD was done before that came into effect.
From the beginning of softball the rules had been the same. Then the NCAA decided to make the changes tying to generate more offense in the game. I always wondered where the impetus came from for the changes. My thoughts are, it came from the "Have not's." when it came to pitching. There is always a shortage of good pitching at the higher levels, and the best teams almost always got the best pitching available. There are always good hitters available, but the better pitchers nullify them. So the "Have not's" pressured the rules committee into making the game better for them.
I wonder if the bat manufactures didn't have their hand in it too? Nothing better for sales than to see high profile players hitting dingers with one of your bats.
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1 in 6 is better than MLB batters where 1 in 5 is about average.
See a good discussion on K% and BB% at this site:
K% and BB% | FanGraphs Sabermetrics Library
How did you figure 4 ball widths?
NCAA did change the strike zone in 2008 as they lowered the top of the zone from top of the the armpits to the bottom of the sternum. They didn't change which part of the ball had to be in the strike zone. Here are the 2007 and 2008 definitions.
2007 - Strike Zone
SECTION 106. The area above home plate between the top of the batter’s forward armpit and the top of her knees when she assumes her natural batting stance. When the top of the ball is on or within the horizontal plane and either side of the ball is on or within the vertical plane of the strike zone, a strike is called unless the ball touches the ground before reaching home plate.
2008 - 1.107 Strike Zone
The area above home plate between the bottom of the batter’s sternum and the top of her knees when she assumes her natural batting stance. When the top of the ball is on or within the horizontal plane and either side of the ball is on or within the vertical plane of the strike zone, a strike is called unless the ball touches the ground before reaching home plate
As a pitchers dad, I support this post! LOL
Hi CB, I think this Hugo gif says it all....I'd consider a running start to be prelaunch movements that can lead to a swing or be aborted....I don't see giffed takes of Hugo, but you'd see her make the same prelaunch movements even if she took a pitch. She just gets to all sorts of pitches so easily and right on time.
Here's Hugo's running start:
There's a famous (at least in these hitting parts) story about Jose Bautista changing his career for the better when he figured out how to start early and slow, ie, a running start:
The traditional thing in fast pitch is to keep everything very still and short to try to "catch up" to speed. The better approach is the running start....
"Dance with the pitcher" is a great way to describe it to younger hitters.....and you can really see that in that first Hugo gif, she and the pitcher are almost totally in synch....
- Feb 7, 2013
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The second OR v WA game had 10 home runs against top 20 pitching. Ridiculous power hitting that makes a joke of the game. Even the great Cheridan Hawkins gave up back to back home runs and she is top 5 pitcher in the NCAA. When is this nonsense going to stop? I'm rethinking all the money and time invested into DD pitching lessons. Maybe she need to pursue a different position?
