World Cup of Softball: USA vs Canada-RULES DIFFERENCE

[TMD]

So you're a fan of the safety bag?!

I have no problem whatsoever with the safety bag. Will be interesting to see how my daughter does without it when she starts college this year.

 

[TMD]

Also noticed the "pitch clock" behind home plate, resetting to 20 seconds when the pitcher received the ball back in the circle. Is having a visible pitch clock mandated or just something they do for this WCoS tournament?

 

[schwabach]

It is one thing to change it on our own accord, it is another just because everybody else is doing it. We are not in Middle-School. If we change it we need to do it because it is best for us. That may or may not be the case.

However, if allowing leaping doesn't ruin the international game, then it becomes harder to argue that it will ruin the U.S. game.

 

[riseball]

However, if allowing leaping doesn't ruin the international game, then it becomes harder to argue that it will ruin the U.S. game.

Unfortunately I have yet to hear a meaningful discussion on the anticipated effects of a change. It is hard to argue that a change to the rule will only remove a level of angst and aside from that it will be business as usual in the U.S. game. As I have said before there is a big difference for leaping as the result of poor mechanics, and to sanction the leaping and then top pitchers do do it by design. In addition are we not also talking about the 24" lane? At a minimum I would expect it will create deepening gap between mediocre pitchers and the truly elite. If that, along with other known and unknown consequences is acceptable then change away. However, I suspect that most advocating this change have given little to no meaningful thought on the consequences. Implementing such an arbitrary and capricious change is never a good plan.

 

[Rocketech1]

Unfortunately I have yet to hear a meaningful discussion on the anticipated effects of a change. It is hard to argue that a change to the rule will only remove a level of angst and aside from that it will be business as usual in the U.S. game.

Here's a meaningful discussion:

Under the current pitching rules a complete disregard by many pitchers to consistently drag their pivot along the ground combined with a complete lack of enforcement (and in some cases purposeful disregard to call IPs). Many pitchers are gaining an unfair advantage over the pitchers who are currently within the rules. Taking away the "drag" requirement would do the following:

a) allow everyone to leap and therefore no one pitcher would have an unfair advantage over another pitcher;

b) there is very little evidence that leaping is a huge advantage to the pitcher. Less ground resistance (pivot drag) might mean the pitcher gets a few inches closer to home plate? They already have pinched the high-strike zone, allowing leaping might help sway the pendulum back in the favor of the pitcher or at least be neutral.

c) at the younger levels (where the vast majority of pitching takes place in fastpitch) you would see negligible performance increases.

d) the argument against allowing leaping is you would have to move the pitching distance back 3 or even 5 feet otherwise batters would have not chance to hit the ball. I disagree. The hot bats, better conditioned athletes, and lowering of the strike zone has made this a hitters game the past decade. The pitchers need to have a fair shot at getting batters out.

e) allowing leaping would be one less thing the pitchers and umpires need to worry about. Pitchers can focus on more important pitching mechanics like arm whip (I/R) and brush interference instead of worrying about whether they are dragging their foot along the ground like an anchor and messing up their balance.

f) the biggest consequences of not requiring pitchers to drag their foot would be to companies like Ringor (with their reinforced toe cleats) would see their sales go down dramatically as players and their families will not have to shell out $100 for a pair of cleats every few months

So to summarize, if the current system is not working, I'm willing to make a change to see if another option will be a betterment to the game. I don't see any downside to the change, but I can see the continued unfairness of allowing illegal pitching for a large % of the population.

You need to remember that the ruling bodies make changes to the rules annually in an attempt to make the game better. For example, the NFHS (high school) just announced that pitchers can now step back off the pitching plate even if their hands are together, anytime before the start of the pitch. Nothing wrong with making the game more accessible for more pitchers to want to pitch and be somewhat successful. I would argue that the "step back" is a bigger advantage to the pitcher than allowing leaping.

 

[Hillhouse]

Another meaningful discussion point that NOBODY can explain to me.

When the 2 feet on rubber, no leap rules were invented we used cork balls that softened and wooden bats. Now it's polycore and titanium. Why is one side allowed to advance but the other cannot?

Bill

 

[riseball]

Here's a meaningful discussion:

Under the current pitching rules a complete disregard by many pitchers to consistently drag their pivot along the ground combined with a complete lack of enforcement (and in some cases purposeful disregard to call IPs). Many pitchers are gaining an unfair advantage over the pitchers who are currently within the rules. Taking away the "drag" requirement would do the following:

a) allow everyone to leap and therefore no one pitcher would have an unfair advantage over another pitcher;

b) there is very little evidence that leaping is a huge advantage to the pitcher. Less ground resistance (pivot drag) might mean the pitcher gets a few inches closer to home plate? They already have pinched the high-strike zone, allowing leaping might help sway the pendulum back in the favor of the pitcher or at least be neutral.

c) at the younger levels (where the vast majority of pitching takes place in fastpitch) you would see negligible performance increases.

d) the argument against allowing leaping is you would have to move the pitching distance back 3 or even 5 feet otherwise batters would have not chance to hit the ball. I disagree. The hot bats, better conditioned athletes, and lowering of the strike zone has made this a hitters game the past decade. The pitchers need to have a fair shot at getting batters out.

e) allowing leaping would be one less thing the pitchers and umpires need to worry about. Pitchers can focus on more important pitching mechanics like arm whip (I/R) and brush interference instead of worrying about whether they are dragging their foot along the ground like an anchor and messing up their balance.

f) the biggest consequences of not requiring pitchers to drag their foot would be to companies like Ringor (with their reinforced toe cleats) would see their sales go down dramatically as players and their families will not have to shell out $100 for a pair of cleats every few months

So to summarize, if the current system is not working, I'm willing to make a change to see if another option will be a betterment to the game. I don't see any downside to the change, but I can see the continued unfairness of allowing illegal pitching for a large % of the population.

You need to remember that the ruling bodies make changes to the rules annually in an attempt to make the game better. For example, the NFHS (high school) just announced that pitchers can now step back off the pitching plate even if their hands are together, anytime before the start of the pitch. Nothing wrong with making the game more accessible for more pitchers to want to pitch and be somewhat successful. I would argue that the "step back" is a bigger advantage to the pitcher than allowing leaping.

Not even close. You failed to address the imminent influx of pitchers with poor mechanics, and did not even mention current elite level leap and drag pitchers with great mechanics incorporating an aggressive leap and generating more energy. Item b) which is fatally flawed and perfectly illustrates the lack of thought on the issue. This is not about the mechanics in use today but what will happen tomorrow. If you think Daddy Ball is bad now, wait until pretty much anyone can pitch.

 

[riseball]

Another meaningful discussion point that NOBODY can explain to me.

When the 2 feet on rubber, no leap rules were invented we used cork balls that softened and wooden bats. Now it's polycore and titanium. Why is one side allowed to advance but the other cannot?

Bill

Do you really think this represents an innocuous change to the game?

 

[JAD]

If the leap and replant is far superior to the drag, why weren't the pitchers doing it in the game last?

Leaping and replanting are two different things in my mind. Leaping does not provide a huge advantage, replanting does. Do international rules for women allow replanting?

 

[chinamigarden]

Are shorts still required in the international game?