Pitching circle conditions

[GOINGDEEP]

there is a right drag tract. very tough for LH pitchers-

Amen...........

 

[Coach Al]

I am constantly packing new clay around pitching plates. When you have to change pitching distance from 43 to 40 to 35, it makes even a bigger mess. In the past I have found that a mixture of clay and topsoil stand up pretty well.

 

[cuzmail]

Another thing: Just putting dirt, sand, ...etc back in the holes doesn't solve the problem. It needs to be packed down too! I rarely see the field crew do this. I usually walk off the distance to make sure it is correct and try to make the piching lane the best possible when they let us on the field.

My DD likes/wants a solid landing spot for her plant foot. She will dig down until she finds solid ground that doesn't "move under my foot" (her words). I have seen her dig down the depth of her foot in the past.

 

[Gbucz]

Just to bring this up again, how much grooming is a pitcher (or team dad) allowed to work the dirt? Recently my DD pitched a tourney with huge ruts on Saturday. When we returned for Sunday games I brought a hammer and mallet to pound in the dirt. I got reprimanded by the other coach (tourney host team) but we could not find an official to ask. I sank the head of my claw hammer into the rut filled with dust and told him this is not safe for my pitcher and needs to be fixed. He left me alone as I pounded and packed the moist dirt/clay mix as much as I could then smoothed it out to look brand new. He didn't complain anymore.

By the 3rd inning it was all dug out again. My DD said it helped for while but once it loosened up it ground up quick. I asked the ump if I could pack it again and he said no we are on a time limit and both teams have to deal with it.

I realize a girl who digs a hole could be competing with one who likes it flat but shouldn't a pitcher be allowed to have the circle groomed to be safe?

 

[starsnuffer]

It's up to the umpire to determine what safe is, although coaches are allowed to protest the field at the beginning of the game. A rut or a hole isn't unsafe, the pitchers need to learn to deal with it. Practice pitching on a crappy field. Practice pitching offset on the rubber from where you usually are to deal with holes and ruts, and learn to groom between each pitch if necessary. Those ruts don't develop on their own, and they're not half as bad if the pitcher kicks them down every pitch.

-W

 

[T.J.]

No, never ever like this! A HUGE pet peeve of mine.

Before each game I groom and tamp the pitchers circle and the batters boxes; and in between double headers too.

After each game I fill in both the pitchers circle and the batters boxes with rake as I don't want these holes filling with rain water. Seriously, it only takes two minutes...I'm done before my DD's are out of the dugout.

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

starsnuffer is correct that a rut or hole isn't unsafe. An umpire or UIC will not cancel a game because of them.

DD has pitched over/through ruts and holes like those pictured and worse! She moaned and complained and tried to fix them as much as possible before games and innings.

She is now playing college ball and commented on how much better the circle is maintained. She and I both think that pitching in the occasional poorly maintained circle has made her a better overall pitcher.

 

[knightsb]

IA rut or a hole isn't unsafe, the pitchers need to learn to deal with it.

starsnuffer is correct that a rut or hole isn't unsafe. An umpire or UIC will not cancel a game because of them.

There are two times I feel the ruts and holes are unsafe, and that is 1) when DD stride foot landing area is so bad that she had the chance to twist an ankle or knee, and 2) when there is a rut that deep and she is trying to field her position (like back peddling on a popup) where she can turn an ankle.

The only thing she can do when the field conditions are this bad is try and do a little fill work in between pitches. Sometimes between innings, I have seen DD direct the other infielders to help fill in the rut from the previous pitcher.

I have noticed as she gets older and more used to the conditions, she complains a lot less.

 

[slingnit]

Until a facility brings in clay filling, tamping, and grooming are very temporary fixes. If there is any loose dirt my dd kicks it away to get to some solid ground, which usually gets drug threw and loosens up anyway. Next thing you know a 6 inch ditch. Next she will make that ditch wider and a more flat surface. But she would rather pitch in a wide low spot than on loose dirt or in a ditch. But seeing a coach or ump drag some dirt in a hole between games does absolutely nothing. Even watering and tamping it down only holds up for a few pitches. But what do you do?

 

[chinamigarden]

Those trenches help hide the fact that my dd is a leaper. She just flys right over them ��