Fri May 30, 2003, 11:57am
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Official Forum Member
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Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: USA
Posts: 14,565
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Quote:
Originally posted by Skahtboi
I keep hearing people say that they will not call an illegal pitch if the pitcher is not gaining an advantage. Hoping not to offend here (though I probably will), tell me, where in the rule book does it say anything about leaping, replanting, or crow-hopping being illegal "only if the pitcher is gaining an advantage?"
The answer, as we all know, is nowhere. Therefore, as umpires, whether we like it or not, when we see a pitcher who is in violation of the pitching rule, we must call it. At the risk of sounding a little too much like Mike here, let me remind you that we are accepting the paycheck to do only one thing. Enforce the rules. We are not there to enforce only the ones we want to, nor are we there to rewrite the rule book. We are there, plain and simply, to enforce the rules of the association for which we are calling. To do otherwise is not only an injustice to the other members of the profession who do enforce the rules to the letter, but is accepting money under false pretenses.
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What a minute! Hmmm....do you owe me royalties for that?
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The bat issue in softball is as much about liability, insurance and litigation as it is about competition, inflated egos and softball.
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