Passed ball or wild pitch?

[coolestcoachever]

I posted this in the catcher forum but wanted some opinions from pitcher parents too.
14 y/o daughter plays catcher for her travel team (HS division) and I keep stats on GameChanger for the coaches. During a recent game a pitch hit the edge of the plate. Catcher tried to block but it bounced away and the runner on 3rd scored. Coach in the dugout yells that she has to block that. After the game I was talking to the coach and said that it was a bad pitch. The pitcher’s dad heard and said that EVERY pitch should be blocked and that every coach calls for pitches to be in the dirt. He said that I just give wild pitches to the pitchers so my daughter doesn’t get the passed ball. DD tries to block every pitch that she can’t catch but sometimes this pitcher throws 5-6 an inning that are in the dirt near the plate. My questions are 1. When should it be a passed ball and when should it be a wild pitch. 2. Do coaches often call for pitches that are in the dirt with runners on third?

 

[kktrev]

I keep game changer as well for my daughter's travel team. Whether I'm right or not I don't know, but I view wild pitches as only those that are un-catchable. So anything within the chalk of the inside of each batter's box should be caught or blocked. And anything within standing height of the catcher should be caught

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[marriard]

I posted this in the catcher forum but wanted some opinions from pitcher parents too.
14 y/o daughter plays catcher for her travel team (HS division) and I keep stats on GameChanger for the coaches. During a recent game a pitch hit the edge of the plate. Catcher tried to block but it bounced away and the runner on 3rd scored. Coach in the dugout yells that she has to block that. After the game I was talking to the coach and said that it was a bad pitch. The pitcher’s dad heard and said that EVERY pitch should be blocked and that every coach calls for pitches to be in the dirt. He said that I just give wild pitches to the pitchers so my daughter doesn’t get the passed ball. DD tries to block every pitch that she can’t catch but sometimes this pitcher throws 5-6 an inning that are in the dirt near the plate. My questions are 1. When should it be a passed ball and when should it be a wild pitch. 2. Do coaches often call for pitches that are in the dirt with runners on third?

I posted this on the other forum as well. But I am going to post again here becasue you added something.

It doesn't matter the OPINION of the pitching parent or catcher or coach or anyone else. The scoring guides have specific guidelines. The only judgement/opinion here is whether the pitch was cacthable or not (not blockable - that has nothing to do with it).

Repost below:

From the NCAA Softball Scoring Guide:

"Wild Pitch:A pitched ball that the catcher misses and could not be expected to catch resulting in a base runner advancing"

Not expected to block. Expected to CATCH.

If it hits the dirt near the plate it is always a wild pitch. Catcher can't catch that. End of story.

If a catcher manages to BLOCK it, then the pitcher should be thanking her.

You can direct Pitchers dad to the guide to scoring below if he wants to have a cry about his daughters crappy bouncing change-up:

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/Stats_Manuals/Baseball/baseball_softball_scorebook.pdf

From the same guide:
"Passed Ball: A pitched ball that the catcher can reasonably be expected to catch but misses, resulting in a base runner advancing. "

Again - not block. CATCH.

 

[Tatonka]

Thank you Marriard for sharing that...

 

[DNeeld]

Most parents of pitchers think the term wild pitch is completely negative.

My DD is a drop ball pitcher and racks up wild pitches by the dozen. She gets tons of swinging strikes on pitches that bounce off the plate.... it's still considered a wild pitch.

 

[Lozza]

I’m a pitcher and I also score. It took them a while to train me out of ‘the catcher should have caught that’

It has to be catchable. If it’s hitting the edge of the plate it’s not catchable. That was a wild pitch not a passed ball.

 

[MNDad]

I posted this on the other forum as well. But I am going to post again here becasue you added something.

It doesn't matter the OPINION of the pitching parent or catcher or coach or anyone else. The scoring guides have specific guidelines. The only judgement/opinion here is whether the pitch was cacthable or not (not blockable - that has nothing to do with it).

Repost below:

From the NCAA Softball Scoring Guide:

"Wild Pitch:A pitched ball that the catcher misses and could not be expected to catch resulting in a base runner advancing"

Not expected to block. Expected to CATCH.

If it hits the dirt near the plate it is always a wild pitch. Catcher can't catch that. End of story.

If a catcher manages to BLOCK it, then the pitcher should be thanking her.

You can direct Pitchers dad to the guide to scoring below if he wants to have a cry about his daughters crappy bouncing change-up:

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/Stats_Manuals/Baseball/baseball_softball_scorebook.pdf

From the same guide:
"Passed Ball: A pitched ball that the catcher can reasonably be expected to catch but misses, resulting in a base runner advancing. "

Again - not block. CATCH.

NFHS rules are slightly different than NCAA. If ball touches in front of home plate it's automatically wild. If it bounces on or between the plate and catcher it becomes a judgement call. Travel rules vary by sanctioning body. I prefer the NCAA rule because it's so cut and dry.

Regardless of sanctioning body Pitchers Dad should just be grateful for anything the catcher stops. He sounds like one of those who thinks home runs are the catchers fault too.

"ART. 1 . . . A wild pitch (F.P.) shall be charged to the pitcher when a ball legally delivered to the batter is so high, or so low (including any pitch which touches the ground in front of home base), or so far away from home base that the catcher does not stop or control it with ordinary effort and the batter-runner advances to first base or any runner advances a base. "

 

[Eric F]

Yes, catchers should be blocking balls in the dirt, to the best of their ability. Blocking is an expected part of the skill set of a competent catcher - just like a 1B who is good a digging out bounced throws. An unsuccessful block does not make it a PB.