With all due respect, the proposed change has nothing to do with negating a skill advantage (somebody who throws 80mph will still be able/allowed to throw 80mph), and it has very little to do with negating a size advantage (other than to say that pitching from 46 feet means exactly that - EVERYONE releases the ball from 46 feet).
What the proposal *does* do is make enforcement of the rule *objective* and *consistent*, both of which are virtually non-existent today. The only thing that would matter is the location of the front foot at the time of release.
Turning the clock back 50 years would do nothing to eliminate the subjectivity in determining whether or not the pivot foot is in contact with the rubber at the time of release. Even worse, though, is that almost every pitcher today would have to relearn his/her craft to comply with the requirement that the pivot foot remains in contact with the rubber until the ball is released. Consistent enforcement would become an even bigger nightmare for umpires than it is under today's rules.
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Originally Posted by WestMichBlue
It is an interesting concept; however I do not like the idea of using rules to negate the advantage of athletes with superior skills or size. (The NBA would have to send Yao Ming back to China.)
The real issue with FP softball - the one that generates maybe 75% of the comments on umpire boards and in clinics, locker rooms, etc. is the illegal or perceived illegal footwork - leaping or crow hopping. The solution is extremely simple.
Turn the clock back to the rules in place for 50 years before ASA took control. Allow the step back, and require that the pivot foot remain in contact with the plate until the ball is released. No need to even define leaps or crow hops - they don't exist. Landing within 24" is not required. That spells the end of 98% of IP issues.
WMB
Note: the reference to ASA is not a slam but simply a historical reference. The Joint Rules Committee, of which ASA was simply one of twenty-some voices, wrote softball rules for 50 years. Rules were relatively consistant over time and, IMO, followed a purist concept of the sport. About 1980 the JRC was disbanded and ASA took over. Pitching rules seemed to change yearly, probably in response to ASA's constituents - the players (especially the spoiled male pitchers).
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