discussion on college D1 illegal pitches

[ASAPAump]

Can someone explain this..

My DD (plays REC) was pitching Saturday. The ump calls me to the circle to talk to her halfway through 2nd inning. He wanted to explain what he was seeing as an IP. (WHICH I REALLY DID APPRECIATE) His explaination was that "she's young. She can stop the habit before it starts." She just turned 10.
So, DD after she had stepped on the rubber, was holding ball in her right hand and kind of tossing it around until she found the right threads. Ump explains that LEGALLY, every little toss is a pitch, and she needs to stop doing this.
I don't know squatt about pitching, but it sounded right. Then he said "If you're going to do that, you can't do it facing the plate, or with your back to the plate, but if you turn toward 3rd, to the side, then it would be ok."

Ok..my 'not knowing squatt' just came into play...Why is it ok to flip it in your hand when you are sideways, but not when you are backwards?

(by the way, I told her to just stop doing it altogether...)

I don't find anything illegal here. Now, if she tosses the ball into her glove and brings her hands together to get the ball out of the glove again... that's her one touch to begin the pitch. If she tosses the ball into her glove and fishes it out with her hands together multiple times... IP.

Edited to say: SoCal, great minds think alike.

 

[SoCalASABlue]

I think, however, that you will begin to see a decrease in the number of IPs being called since the memo sent out from NCAA HQ on the 29th...it's posted at NFCA.ORG for anyone to read...

 

[stephanie]

Thanks guys! So, just to clarify, I can tell my daughter that it isn't until she reaches both hands together 1. with the ball 2. on the rubber that the official pitch begins.
..and not to leap with both feet off the ground!

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Thanks, SoCal. This will add to the confusion.

Therefore, in an effort to maintain this point of emphasis and diminish the unintended consequences, it has been determined that in applying the pitching rules (Rules 10.2-10.6), pitchers should be given the benefit of the doubt when executing a legal pitch.
The expectation is that coaches will continue to coach pitchers in a manner that is in compliance with the pitching rules and umpires will call illegal pitches in the spirit of fair and equitable competition but also in pursuit of maintaining the flow of the game. Specifically, umpires are asked to take the approach that a pitch is legal until the pitcher proves otherwise by engaging in any movement not in compliance with the pitching rules. Again, umpires need to enforce the pitching rules and yet, give pitchers the benefit of the doubt if there is any question of legality.

 

[SoCalASABlue]

ASA Rule 6, Section 2 states "The pitch starts when one hand is taken off the ball after the hands have been placed together." The pitch begins when she separates her hands. Even if she has both hands together on the pitcher's plate, she can still request "time" from the umpire - but should not vacate the pitcher's plate until "time" is clearly granted.

 

[shockcoach]

Once again, those pitchers who pitch according to the rules are at a disadvantage to those who pitch illegally.

 

[shockcoach]

ASA Rule 6, Section 2 states "The pitch starts when one hand is taken off the ball after the hands have been placed together." The pitch begins when she separates her hands. Even if she has both hands together on the pitcher's plate, she can still request "time" from the umpire - but should not vacate the pitcher's plate until "time" is clearly granted.

I thought you were allowed to step backwards off the rubber without having time called. Maybe that's NSA or U-Trip. Too many sanctions around here with each having their own twist on the same rules.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Shock, Maybe it's baseball. I do tell my girls that if they get ready to pitch and they realize that CF has a coughing fit (or something), to step backwards off the plate. I don't think that any of my students have had to, though.

 

[SoCalASABlue]

Amy and Shock;

You both could be right about being able to step off the back without calling time...however, at the last college game I attended the pitcher made it a point to ask for "time" and waited to have it granted before stepping back...in my mind, that's safer than having to argue after the fact with the umpire if you just stepped off and he/she called IP...

 

[Renntiger]

Comparing the tone in Abrahamson's March 24 memo and that of her March 29 memo, one gets the impression that considerable pressure had been applied to her over the IP brouhaha, and she finally buckled.

I don't know how the umpires are supposed to interpret the sentence "... umpires need to enforce the pitching rules and yet, give the pitchers the benefit of the doubt if there is any question of legality".

Who gets to set the threshold for that "question of legality", beyond which no benefit of the doubt is to be given? Surely not the umpires themselves, since this would be tantamount to telling them to doubt their own eyes and ability to make sound judgment. Then who? The coaches? The fans in the stand? The authors of those angry messages in Abrahamson's inbox? Taken literally, the 3/29 memo not only condones inconsistent enforcement of certain pitching rules, but actually endorses it as official NCAA policy. SoCalASABlue is probably right; after reading this memo, no sane umpire would bother making IP calls on infractions that are not glaringly obvious to everyone present, unless instant video replay becomes an official judging tool - not to help the umpires see better (those of us who have worked with crow-hoppers don't need slow-mo videos to see their replants), but to convince those vocal doubters that the "question of legality" threshold had been exceeded.

If they were going to capitulate this easily to pressure from those who sought to relax rule enforcement, why not just go the ISF route, and simply make crow-hopping legal, instead of coming up with this wishy washy nonsense?