IP w/o Pitch

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by Manny A

Alright, I'm still having some difficulty with the wording in the rule books where it says if the pitcher commits an illegal pitch without the pitch being delivered, it's an immediate dead ball. The mixed interpretations I'm hearing are these:

1. If the pitcher commits the IP before she starts her delivery, kill it and announce the IP and penalty.

2. If the pitcher commits the IP you signal a DDB and wait until she aborts from pitching, then you kill it and announce the IP and penalty.

So, take for example, a pitcher who licks her fingers and then fails to wipe before she touches the ball while she's walking up to get on the plate. Those who advocate "1" above would say you kill play immediately, and then make the announcement/award. Those who believe "2" is correct will tell you to call the IP when it happens, but not kill it until it's clear the pitcher isn't going to pitch (e.g., she stops short of the plate and asks, "What did I do?")

What about this one: While the pitcher is off the plate, she gets a verbal signal from the coach, looks at her armband for the correct pitch selection, then steps on the plate and immediately puts her hands together without looking in for the signal from the catcher. Those who believe "1" is correct would have the PU immediately call Dead Ball, but "2" would say to not kill it until she steps back off the plate.

Personally, I'm with "1". I'm going to kill it immediately unless the IP happens during the actual pitch delivery (e.g., double-touch, start-stop-start, leap, crow-hop, violation of the 24 inches, etc.) Is that correct?

"If an illegal pitch occurs but the pitch is not released, it is a dead ball." NCAA 10.8 Effect

This is a common if/then statement; logic doesn't extend to the opposite sequence. When the pitch IS released, the offense has an option available.

Your version (#2) not only takes the if/then statement out of sequence by killing the play because YOU have decided the pitch shouldn't be released, but it also denies the offense a possibly beneficial option. I do not see any rule support for declaring anything but "illegal pitch" and a delayed dead ball.

Personally, the only time I would declare an immediate dead ball without waiting to see what the pitcher does is when the pitcher defaces the ball or applies a foreign substance; those are instances where completion may result in harm to a player from the altered ball condition, and that ball needs to be removed from play as soon as possible.

Can anyone quote rulebook language in any major set that says differently?