[MigoP]

Originally Posted by Skahtboi

10 years ago??? Son, I have been calling FP for a couple of decades now, and believe me, there was the same emphasis on calling IP's back then as there are now. Odd that the NCAA decides to make a POE on calling IP's, and suddenly the weak minded believe that there is a new movement taking place. This "movement" is as old as the hills.

I have been an advocate of making women's and JO softball pitching rules more in line with men's. This would go a long way in eliminating much of the controversy. However, if a coach driven rule set like NCAA's is going to try to water down the IP rule, then they should just abolish it as it is written altogether. Allow the leap. Allow a step outside of the 24 inch lane. (Oh...but wait. That would ruin those cute little lines the coaches demanded just a couple of years ago.) Allow anything that doesn't technically deceive the batter. That, or leave things as they are and allow us to enforce the rule without a lot of media controversy when it is done. IMO, this past year, there were many IP's that could have been called that weren't.

While I cannot speak for the rest of the country, it appeared that around here NCAA officials were doing a good job of focusing on the IP as per the SUIP directive. Now that the coaches have started to realize just how often their pitcher's are illegal, they once again want to change the rule. I find it odd that one rule can cause such controversy.

Can't disagree with that one. But it does bring a question to mind. If the same emphasis was put on IP's decades ago, does that mean umpires have ignored it for decades? Or is it the scrutiny now being put on the situation causing umps to start making the call? If it's been emphasized for 20 years and umpires still aren't making the call you have to wonder how hard it was emphasized, or were umps ignoring the emphasis and calling their own versions. Hmm.