Speed of softball pitch

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by Tru_in_Blu

I worded that poorly. Yes the strike zone is over the plate.

In a modified-pitch game, the strike zone is armpits to top of the knees. In slow pitch, it's the front knee to the back shoulder.

So can a pitcher throwing a 10 to 12 foot arc pitch manage to throw a pitch that would be ruled a fast pitch strike? I.E. could it manage to cross the plate at a height that would be at or below the armpits? Clearly, if the ball hits the plate, it's a ball.

Not sure what the average distance is between the armpit and top of the shoulder. Maybe 6 inches?

I find calling those type of pitches from the guys that throw slow, loopy pitches more difficult than from pitchers who can generate a little speed. The loopy pitch crosses the plate at eye-level and ends up in the catcher's glove about belt high. And the pitchers are whining to get that call because of where it ended up.

For what it is worth, practically any pitch that is a slow pitch strike (because it actually passed thru that zone, not because of where it landed, as called by many, if not most, and to completely exclude "mat-ball" definitions) is almost assuredly a strike in fast pitch. Only the highest (deep) pitches DON'T also pass thru the fastpitch, and thus modified, strike zone, passing the plate above the armpit.

As you have mentioned, the only slow pitch strike that isn't also a fast pitch and modified strike is the pitch crossing the plate between the top of the shoulder and the bottom of the armpit. They don't have to want that "slowpitch" strike, but it as much a strike as the intended changeup from a true modified or fastpitch pitcher that cuts thru the same zone.