illegal pitching not called

Umpires need to at least give pitchers a warning and I have even seen some talk with coaches/pitchers after the game or between innings to let them know they are illegal and need to fix it before they call the next game for them.

JAD said:

Umpires need to at least give pitchers a warning and I have even seen some talk with coaches/pitchers after the game or between innings to let them know they are illegal and need to fix it before they call the next game for them.

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Nowhere do the rules state to warn the pitcher, umpires do not give warning for other violations you simply call the infraction when it happens.

Comp said:

Nowhere do the rules state to warn the pitcher, umpires do not give warning for other violations you simply call the infraction when it happens.

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Never said it was in the rules, but as the parent of a pitcher I would appreciate an umpire letting my DD and/or myself know if she was doing something illegal. Pitchers do not have any reason to address the problem if no one calls them on it or mentions it to them. Umpires just kick the can down the road...

No, the can should not continue to just be kicked down the road and thats why the infraction should be called. Giving warnings is not fair to the opposing team, what infractions on their part should only receive warnings during the course of the game?

JAD said:

Never said it was in the rules, but as the parent of a pitcher I would appreciate an umpire letting my DD and/or myself know if she was doing something illegal. Pitchers do not have any reason to address the problem if no one calls them on it or mentions it to them. Umpires just keep kick the can down the road...

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Obviously, the problem with the whole illegal pitching issue is that its subjective and different umps are all over the place. A warning would be nice. Its very disturbing to have a kid throw all season without an issue, then have a field ump start ringing her up illegal after illegal. Its ridiculous to be honest. Some sort of consistency is needed.

BB875 said:

Obviously, the problem with the whole illegal pitching issue is that its subjective and different umps are all over the place. A warning would be nice. Its very disturbing to have a kid throw all season without an issue, then have a field ump start ringing her up illegal after illegal. Its ridiculous to be honest. Some sort of consistency is needed.

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To the OP, get used to it. Many umpires won't do it for various reasons. That's neither here nor there. Either enforce the rules as written or change the rules. I don't care which! But umpires not calling the rules as written are only doing a HUGE disservice to those pitchers that will have to follow them at a higher age group or level.

So, we had our provincial championships this weekend, and as coaches we were given notice that the umpires would be calling illegal pitches. I was ecstatic!

In the end it turned out that not all the umpires got the memo... Our team played 4 games, my other daughter's team played 4 games and I watched another 10 games over the course of the weekend, and the only game in which I saw an illegal pitch called was our first game... 8 times between 4 pitchers on both teams...

"She didn't pause long enough."
"She didn't present the ball."
"She didn't walk to the back of the circle."

I left that game thinking 'wow, this is great, they really mean it this time...'

Then the rest of the weekend was this:

On another diamond I watched a pitcher who would leap (back foot in the air), replant and push off again, gaining a full 3 feet on the batter... no call
Another was stepping off and pushing from the dirt about 6 inches in front of the rubber instead of off the rubber... no call
Another was stepping on the rubber and then playing catch with herself before delivering the pitch... no call

This is just one of those things that isn't considered serious enough to follow through with I guess...

"She didn't pause long enough."
"She didn't present the ball."
"She didn't walk to the back of the circle."

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Didnt pause long enough? Depends on what exactly they are referring to.

Nothing in the rules mention anything about presenting the ball, have absolutely no idea what infraction they may have been talking about but not presenting the ball has no basis as an illegal pitch in softball.

She didnt walk to the back of the circle? What the heck are they talking about? The only thing worse than umpires not calling real illegal pitches are ones that are calling phantom pitches and making up their own pitching rules.

Comp said:

Didnt pause long enough? Depends on what exactly they are referring to.

Nothing in the rules mention anything about presenting the ball, have absolutely no idea what infraction they may have been talking about but not presenting the ball has no basis as an illegal pitch in softball.

She didnt walk to the back of the circle? What the heck are they talking about? The only thing worse than umpires not calling real illegal pitches are ones that are calling phantom pitches and making up their own pitching rules.

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Presenting = stepping onto the mound with the ball in the throwing hand, not in the glove.

I have no idea what the walking to the back of the circle violation was either - he called it on the other team, so I only heard his call from the field, and not the explanation he gave the pitcher.

The pause - I talked to our pitcher about that. She said she does it on purpose once in a while because she feels she gets a bit more speed out of it. Basically she steps on the rubber and goes, she feels it gives her a little more (like a walk-on) but watching her, there is really no difference. She is just hurrying the pitch.