NCAA Armband rule clarification

[CecilOne]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

controlled with the simple raising of a hand by the umpire.

Isn't that "helping the batter" ?

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by CecilOne

Isn't that "helping the batter" ?

Nope.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by AtlUmpSteve

Now come the armbands; and even more than when taking catcher's signals from behind, pitchers looked at the armbands, stepped on and their arms were even already in motion toward "together" before both feet had even stopped. It became repeated points of emphasis to call illegal pitches if the pitcher didn't come to a complete pause with hands separated after stepping on and fully engaged "to take or simulate taking a signal".

Is part of the problem that pitchers are keeping momentum from taking one or more steps onto the plate, like cricket bowlers getting a running start? Or is it just a psychologic problem of what batters see and/or are deceived by?

But, across the country, UMPIRES DID NOT ENFORCE THAT. Not even on ESPN big series, not in postseason, not even in the WCWS. By the big names, no one wanted to be "THAT" umpire, when no one else had been calling it, all season.

NCAA tried to reinforce the full stop and pause; they made the rule a TWO SECOND pause, so no one could consider anything that wasn't absolutely a clear and obvious stop to be adequate. But umpires still never embraced it, there was essentially zero change as pitchers continued to walk right thru, and umpires still did not call it, even when clear.

Same in football, where early in the 20th Century a requirement of a "complete stop" was put in, then after a few years changed to a 1-second stop, and now many years later some teams get away with not only not pausing for a full second (which was never enforced exactly, only to the spirit of not retaining momentum), but keeping their body momentum as they put the ball into play after shifting position, even though their feet are in place.

Come to think of it, there's even more these ball games have in common. At one time in football they tried to limit delaying tactics by putting a 15 second limit on the time the team with the ball could spend in a huddle prior to putting it in play. Then they saw that wasn't so effective when there was still no limit to the time they took after breaking the huddle before putting the ball into play, and they imposed a 30 second overall limit, on top of the 15 seconds in the huddle. Eventually they said, why do we care how much of the time they use up huddling when it's only the total time that affects the game, and they abolished that 15 second limit, so they could spend their 30 seconds communicating any way they wanted to.

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by CecilOne

Isn't that "helping the batter" ?

Never could understand that notion. It's an approved mechanic.

[jmkupka]

Thank you Steve for the explanation. Just attended our NCCA clinic, where this was discussed and clarified, until almost the very end, when one of the final points was,

Pitcher is on the PP, hands separated. Pause.
Takes signal from whomever.
Looks at her armband.
Brings hands together and IMMEDIATELY begins her pitch.

Raised my hand, just to make sure Im understanding correctly, that once the hands are brought together, there no longer needs to be a pause (which has ALWAYS been the rule, whether enforced or not)...

The response I got was, " how many pauses do you want?"

What are your thoughts on this interp?

By the way, I hereby swear that I will uphold and enforce every rule to the best of my ability...

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by jmkupka

Thank you Steve for the explanation. Just attended our NCCA clinic, where this was discussed and clarified, until almost the very end, when one of the final points was,

Pitcher is on the PP, hands separated. Pause.
Takes signal from whomever.
Looks at her armband.
Brings hands together and IMMEDIATELY begins her pitch.

Raised my hand, just to make sure Im understanding correctly, that once the hands are brought together, there no longer needs to be a pause (which has ALWAYS been the rule, whether enforced or not)...

The response I got was, " how many pauses do you want?"

What are your thoughts on this interp?

By the way, I hereby swear that I will uphold and enforce every rule to the best of my ability...

Pitcher is on the PP, hands separated. Pause.
Takes signal from whomever.

With exception of international (WBSC) rules, which require a 2 second interval with hands together, that is legal everywhere else. The only pause required is what you described.

The length of time that the hands can/need to be together in NCAA is not more than 5 seconds, with no minimum. 10.2.3