Quote:
Originally posted by DG
I have been pondering on this for a couple days now. From the original post, "Curveball comes in, does not break". How do we know it's a curveball if it don't break? Is this an assumption because the pitch was slower? How do we know it wasn't a change that slipped out of the pitcher's grip?
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You know it's a curveball because of the spin ... because of the release ... and because you've seen
thousands of them.
There's no mistaking a breaking pitch for a fastball.
There's no mistaking a breaking pitch for a straight change.
Curveball ... slider ... slurve ... they are all breaking pitches and there is no mistaking them.
It is important that an umpire be able to identify pitches because when a bean ball war begins, you can safely assume that the pitcher was not attempting to hit a batter with a breaking pitch. But you have to KNOW that it was a breaking pitch.
I think the NCAA got it right as they do not require a batter to move whenever a pitch is thrown within the confines of the batter's box. If a pitcher is going to throw a pitch within the batter's box, he shouldn't be surprised if it ends up hitting the batter.
To my way of thinking, I don't think I've ever seen a batter not "flinch", however slight, prior to being hit. At least I'm consistent in this regard.
David Emerling
Memphis, TN