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Originally Posted by Stat-Man
Establish a pitcher’s box for SP Is this like the new NCAA FP box? If so, I don't like that idea.
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This is a rule that has been implemented in senior play. As Mike said, it's a 2'x6' area from which the pitcher may deliver a pitch. Just picture a big pitcher's plate, and apply all of the regular rules we'd normally apply to a 24"x6" plate: must come to a stop for 1 second, must have one foot on the plate (well, box), if a step is taken... blah blah blah.
It gives the pitchers an extra 6' if they so desire, and I actually support this idea. Teams always complain about the hot bats, and every little bit of reaction time can be helpful.
At the Senior Men's Nationals, we used this rule for the first time, and it was never an issue. Since there are no physical lines, judging whether a pitcher is in "the box" is left to umpire's judgment, and field crews don't have to do anything different to prep the fields.
Most of the time, if a pitcher starts to get behind after pitching from the back of the box, they almost always go back to the actual plate and pitch from there.
I personally think this is a great idea, one of the few rule changes I support.