[waltjp]

FED 6-1-2

For the wind-up position, the pitcher is not restricted as to how he shall hold the ball. A pitcher assumes the windup position when his hands are: (a) together in front of the body; (b) both hands are at his side; (c) either hand is in front of the body and the other hand is at his side. The pitcher’s non-pivot foot shall be in any position on or behind a line extending through the front edge of the pitcher’s plate...

I stopped by to watch a couple innings of a county tournament this afternoon. During the first inning I noticed that the pitcher for the home team appeared to be setting with his non-pivot foot clearly in front of the rubber. He ended up walking the lead off batter and pitched the remainder of the inning from the stretch.

When they took the field in the top of the second I moved up the line behind first base to get a better look at his foot position and my suspicion was confirmed - he clearly started with the heel of his non-pivot foot about 6 inches in front of the rubber.

This game was worked by a 4-man crew and there was no excuse for not being able to see the rubber as a fresh coat of white paint was applied to it just before the plate conference. Am I trying to pick fly crap out of the pepper or would others have enforced the pitching rule cited above?