In the Box???

[TexBlue]

Originally Posted by MA Softball Ump

I do not do USSSA ball, but the question intrigued me so I went to:
http://www.usssa.com/usssa/usssa-gen...SPRuleBook.pdf
and found the following three sections which may be helpful:


ILLEGALLY BATTED BALL is one Batted Fair or Foul by the Batter when either one or both of his feet are in contact with the ground COMPLETELY outside the lines of the Batter’s Box, or when his foot is in contact with Home Plate, or when the ball is batted with an Illegal Bat.

and

E. Once the Pitcher begins his delivery motions; the umpire shall not give a call or signal for “Time” unless something unusual occurs.
F. The pitched ball must be released within 5 seconds from the time the Pitcher has the ball and the batter has taken his position in the Batter’s Box.
From this point, the Umpire shall not give a call or signal for “Time” unless something unusual occurs.
G. Pitcher must face Home Plate on delivery of pitch.
(NOTE Sec. 4. A-E. Realizing that the Pitcher does not fool very many batters to the extent that they can not hit the ball, it is desired that Pitchers not be handicapped by technicalities, when they do develop a new technique or delivery that, perhaps, will add to the pleasure and appeal to the spectators, as long as the Pitcher adheres to the basic Pitching Rules.)

and

QUICK RETURN PITCH is a Pitch made by a Pitcher with the obvious attempt to catch the Batter off guard and balance. This could be when the Batter first takes his position in the Batter’s Box and before he is ready, or when the Batter is still off balance from the previous pitch.

Hope this helps!

Yeah, I found all those sections. They don't cover it, exactly. What I'm looking for is something to either support the other umpires out there, or tell me they are wrong. USSSA's rule book is not quite as comprehensive as ASA, Federation or PONY's and this is one of those gray areas. At least so far. I've sent an email to Danny Malone, maybe he can help me.