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Backswing and Legal Delivery - ASA
After a particular pitcher, and numerous complaints the other night, and some disagreement between the umpires working the game, we went to look at the exact wording of the book describing exactly how far back a pitcher's arm could go and still be legal.
The book says the arm can go toward the rear (past the leg). How far is too far. The only other part that addresses anything on the motion says she can't have 2 revolutions (which I take to mean 2 FULL revolutions), and she can't have the wrist further out to the side than her elbow.
So... how far back is too far? Is it legal for a girl's backswing to go past the leg at all (one coach contended no)? Is it legal for the backswing to go 6 inches past the leg? 12 inches? 45 degrees? 90 degrees? Etc.
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"Many baseball fans look upon an umpire as a sort of necessary evil to the luxury of baseball, like the odor that follows an automobile." - Hall of Fame Pitcher Christy Mathewson
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