Last night at a female fast pitch game (16U), the pitcher pitched a pitch which she called "chinese Change-up". She started on the rubber with both hands together; however she brought the ball behind her hip and instead of bringing her arm around in a nomal fast pitch rotation, she pitched the ball stright foward in a slow pitch method. The ball flowed to the plate with a slow pitch arce (about 5 feet) on it. The umpire called it lllegal pitch. Her team coach argue that it was legal; however the opposing team coach called it lllegal, also.

Has anyone heard of this pitch and is it legal according to ASA rules?

almost sounded like a slingshot pitch to me if it wouldn't have had the arch..... I'm not an expert so I am just kinda voiceing my opinion off the top of my head.....the arch is what made it an illegal pitch?

[Edited by coachfanmom on May 17th, 2005 at 03:21 PM]

There are no arch requirements in fastpitch. Try again.

so fastpitch CAN have an arch to the pitch??

"so fastpitch can have an arch?"

YES!! have you ever seen a 10u rec game, thats called Fast pitch too. :)

yeah......so true!!! Didn't think about it that way...so what was it that made this pitch illegal then?

As a matter of fact, there are no arc requirements in FP either!!! :D

Either I am missing something here, or else this is a perfectly legal delivery.

hummmmmmmmmm guess I must have missed something too......

As long as the pitcher did not continue her rotation after releasing the pitch, I would agree.

I'm curious about the name of the pitch. Did the Chinese team use this in their last Olympic appearance?

Legal pitch. First time you see it, you have to stop and think about it.

Not only is there no arc restrictions in FP, there is also nothing that automatically declares a pitch a ball just because it hits home plate.

Combine these two into a pitching strategy where you can pitch the ball 20 feet up and have it come straight down and land on home plate, and technically it would be a strike. Played some unlimited arc slow pitch a long time ago...it is like trying to hit a squirrel running down a tree.

interesting!!! Would love to find out the technique in doing that pitch.....that sounds like a wonderful change up!! lol

What is illegal about the pitch? If I am reading this correctly, and I have made
the portion bold that I am questioning, is the fact that she starts with both hands
together.

"Not only is there no arc restrictions in FP, there is also nothing that automatically declares a pitch a ball just because it hits home plate."

In ASA fastpitch, 7.5.A, a pitch that touches home plate is a ball. Or am I reading that wrong and was taught wrong?



[Edited by blue_ape on May 18th, 2005 at 01:15 AM]

It's a ball provided the batter doesn't swing at it:-)

It sounds like what is being described is merely a slingshot motion; perfectly legal.

The "Chinese changup" that I am familiar with has the pitcher complete the windmill revolution after releasing the pitch. That is illegal.

The typical use that I see is an additional pitch to a pitcher with a full windmill motion. After the batters get used to seeing the backswing, full arms extended above the head, and a full windmill, the pitcher then uses this pitching motion, which releases the ball on the first forward motion.

It CAN be legal, if there is no continuing revolution of the arms to simulate the windmill after releasing the ball.

In 2003 FED fastpitch rules (7.2.2 EFFECT), the ball could hit the plate for a strike. In a silent and unpublicized editorial change, the 2004 NFHS rulebook deleted the words "in slow pitch". But, as noted previously, not in ASA, nor in NCAA.