Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Slick
Then she was a very rare individual who could throw a pitch with either a) her hips complete square to the plate or b) she pushed off with such force to drag the entire 24" of the pitcher's plate, not lose momentum, pivot (to close her hips) and release the pitch. Either way, she is the EXCEPTION, not the rule.
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Definitely agree she was the exception. a) she was definitely facing the batter ... if not left of the batter ... upon release. If you took a picture of her at the moment of release from home plate, she would appear to be facing you with her arm outstretched toward you. b) yup, but that part's not rare... the little drag marks most pitchers make are more than 2 feet long. c) she didn't close her hips - she was wide open (toward home) at the release.
It was a bizarre motion. I think she did lose momentum because of it. The other thing that was also illegal is that her arm was often out away from her body (wrist further than the elbow)... almost Kent Tekulve-ish. I bet she would have been pretty good without the odd motion. As it was, it was ONLY the odd motion that gave her any advantage - she wasn't all that fast, and her pitches, while strikes, were all hittable... once batters got used to the odd motion (which should have been IP'd in the first place), she got hit.