Waist up, waist down
 

The other night we were talking illegal pitch mechanics and I dropped what I thought was the traditional approach of (generally) plate has from waist up, field has from waist down. One of our guys said he'd never heard of that in his 30+ years of umping and could I point to any manual that states that. Well after a day of looking... I can't. Fed doesn't state it, nor does my older versions of ASA or NCAA. Anyone know of a place where this old adage is written?

Never heard it either and isn't completely accurate. Plate has hands and feet for lane violation, base has feet for plate violations, leap and crowhop and hands for continued rotation after release. In 3 umpire system, base can also have lane when behind 2nd.

I hope it's not written anywhere. Because it's wrong.

For what it's worth, I found this in the online version of 2014 Pony mechanics...

ILLEGAL PITCHES
• Mechanic
• The umpire calling an illegal pitch shall extend her left arm shoulder high with a closed fist and say “illegal” loud enough for the closest player to hear.
• Plate Umpire
• Calls all illegal pitches that pertain to the hands.
• Calls all illegal pitch for stepping outside the 24-inch width of the pitcher’s
plate.
• Calls illegal pitches for foreign substance.
• Base Umpire
• Calls all illegal pitches for foot violations.
• Calls illegal pitches for foreign substance.

Not exactly what I was thinking, but something...

My main issue with those instructions is "all illegal pitches for foot violations" and "all illegal pitches for stepping outside the 24..." overlap.

BU has the best angle on feet, with the exception of the 24"... so that's their main focus. PU gets pretty much everything else.