These are just my local area rules. But my gut tells me that the wording "You can step back during, prior, after, whatever the hell you want" is their way of saying we don't give a crap about that foot -- do whatever you want.
New 2020 Pitching Rules
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These are just my local area rules. But my gut tells me that the wording "You can step back during, prior, after, whatever the hell you want" is their way of saying we don't give a crap about that foot -- do whatever you want.
That's where the "appear to take the sign" comes in. What they really mean (I think) is simply pause and look at the catcher before bringing the hands together and going into the motion to avoid the quick pitch you mentioned. I haven't seen anything that actually prohibits getting a sign from somewhere else but I could be misinterpreting the rule.
I never said anything about both feet. I just replied to your question if the feet have to be touching the plate to receive a signal. Yes, only one is necessary in college.
NCAA came out with a number of clarifications on what a pitcher can and cannot do while behind (and not in contact with) the plate. She can look over to her dugout and get the armband signal from her coach while off the plate. But she's not allowed to then look at her armband for the pitch until she moves up and makes contact with the plate. Looking at her armband after making contact meets the requirement of taking the sign; looking at it before making contact is an illegal pitch.
No different in baseball. They, too, have different pitching rules for different organizations. They even have different rules for different levels within one organization (e.g., Little League).
These softball leagues try to accommodate the expected talent level of their players. High schools will always have one team full of talented players and another team of girls just wanting to have an outlet to keep them off the streets after classes. They’re going to have pitchers who have never pitched in their lives suddenly give it a try because without them, there’d be nobody on the team willing to take the circle. It’s perfectly reasonable for NFHS to have pitching rules that help those girls throw strikes for their team to be somewhat competitive.
Why USA, USSSA, and perhaps others suddenly decide to adopt NFHS’s philosophy is a mystery to me. Perhaps they realize that for every 18U elite team they field, they also have 10U and 12U rec league teams that need some relaxed pitching rules to help them succeed. Not every softball player out there has the goal of playing on ESPN in June.
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So you think the step back rule helps pitchers throw strikes? First I've heard of that. Helps them gain velo? Sure. Heard that and have seen it in the real world. Helps them be more accurate? I would have to be convinced of that but I'm all ears.
That aside, still don't understand why they can't get together and all agree to be either step back or start back.
- Aug 21, 2008
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I'm not going to speak for CHSump but I'll take a stab at this. NO, stepping back does not help throw strikes. But the more liberal the pitching rules are, the more kids will be willing to try it. If a team doesn't have a pitcher and you throw someone out there who's never done it before, you can almost guarantee they won't do it again if they had to conform to the old fashioned rules of 2 feet on the rubber and not being allowed any momentum or comfort in what they are TRYING to do. At least with the more open pitching rules now, a kid might want to practice a little just to see what they can do. IMO that is.
Bill
I’m not a pitching coach, so I have no idea what these optional motions will do for them. But I have to believe having those options available to them will allow them to choose what is best to help them succeed.
As for your other comment, I don’t know if they’ve gotten together or not, but where before NFHS was different than USA and others, now this year they’re all the same. NFHS, USA, USSSA, PGF (assuming the follow NFHS rules as their website says they do), and LL allow both the start back and step back. I can’t speak for others like NSA, USFA, PONY, Babe Ruth, Dixie, etc. because I haven’t checked their rules (and since I don’t umpire any of those, I won’t bother to check). Only NCAA allows just the start back.
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Thanks Bill. Follow up question. Out of curiosity, as a former college coach, if you were looking for a pitcher in a PGF tournament for example, and they were stepping back, would that affect your evaluation of them and cause you to take a pass? Or would the conversion to staying back once they got to college be of minimal concern to you?
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