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Old Thu Mar 17, 2005, 09:03am
bob jenkins bob jenkins is offline
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Join Date: Aug 1999
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Quote:
Originally posted by carldog
I guess what confuses me is Mr. Jenkins writing:

"Don't just focus on the foot. If the whole of the movement indicated a pitch (foot back, arms up, body doesn't turn), then it's a pitch. If the whole of the movement indicates a throw to first (foot back, arm cocks, body turns), then it's a pick-off attempt"

While I understand his point (and I know he is correct...I'm just trying to understand this and file it away in my thick head...) in both cases, the first motion is "foot back"...

Isn't (free) 'foot back' a motion associated with a pitchers's normal delivery to the plate? Imagine a slight delay - ever so slight - between 'foot back' and "arm cocks, body turns" . Man, my players are stealing! And caught in a run down...
You are correct ... my wording was "wrong". Replace "foot back" with "Foot to the side".

Further, in a step to the base, the foot will generally point at (toward) the base; in a step that's part of the pitching motion, the foot will generally point at the plate. (And, no, I'm not trying to start the old argument about whether the direction the toes point *requires* a throw in that direction.)

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