And you ruled it a "pitch"?

Maybe she was an Orlando Cepeda fan.

Bob

Here's another...

A few years back I was working a fall league that some of the travel teams use as their try-outs for the following summer. It's laid back, free subbing, bat as many as you want, if teams are short the other team will give a player to fill a spot on defense, etc. I had a 16u team that was usually competitve against a very good 14u team. The first couple innings, the 16u catcher was missing every other pitch. I took a ton off the hands thighs and shins. Between innings, I walked over to the head coach, who also is a local HS head coach, I told him "Coach, your catcher is killing me back there." His reply,
"matt, that's my shortstop, my catcher is home with the flu!":eek:

And you asked this questions why?

Of course he ruled it a pitch. An illegal pitch. Correct call. Game over. Go home.

Ignoring where the batter ("went to first") and catcher were positioned, etc.; the NCAA and NFHS rule books define a pitch as "... being delivered with a legal underhand motion" and the other books have no definition. Throwing the ball to the catcher is therefore not necessarily a pitch, especially when it is an obvious misunderstanding and not a "gotcha".

I had a HS VARSITY coach claim that the Infield Fly Rule protected the infielders, NOT the runners. And he coached his team to an LA City AAAA Championship.

Bob

The infielders are protected FROM HAVING TO CATCH THE DANG BALL

I did have a catcher come up one night and say, "Where is your strike zone?" I said, "WHAT?" She said, "I was wondering where your strike zone is, do you call it by the book, or do you just make it up as you go?" I simply said, "I'll show you where it is in a minute."

Here;s one from last weekend.

Bases loaded, one out. Batter hits a one hopper to pitcher.Back to catcher for force, down to first for easy double play.

Except batter is way out of lane, both feet clearly on fair side of line. 1B can't catch the ball, of course, because it hits runner in helmet and bounces way over her head.

I kill it immediately, call BR out for interference.

"Blue, there's no way you can call that. There was no way first baseman coulda caught that after it bounced off her helmet."

I swear to God I did NOT laff in his face.

I would have right before I handed him his sign.

Along the same lines....

I'm working a rec level FP game solo, RH batter checks her swing, I call a ball.
Somebody shouts "go for help, Blue!" I'm having a pretty good time with this game, coaches are low-key, focusing more on instructing and helping the girls have fun, so I decide to have a little fun, too.

I pull off my mask, point down at the first base coach and yell "DID SHE GO?!?" Without hesitation, the coach yells back "YES!" and gives me the hammer!

After I did a double take, I said "OK", adjusted my count, and went back for the next pitch.

I think it took the first base coach about 30 seconds to realize that he had just called a strike on his own batter! :eek:

When something is not legal it is illegal. So you call an illegal pitch.

My point with my full post

"Ignoring where the batter ("went to first") and catcher were positioned, etc.; the NCAA and NFHS rule books define a pitch as "... being delivered with a legal underhand motion" and the other books have no definition. Throwing the ball to the catcher is therefore not necessarily a pitch, especially when it is an obvious misunderstanding and not a "gotcha"."

was whether it was a pitch at all if it was not underhand.

Cecil,

I assume now, as I did before, that you meant you cannot have a pitch without the batter and catcher occupying their respective position at the time of the pitch.

If we are not dealing with the position of the pitcher and catcher, and assuming catcher is in the catcher's box (which is true 99.9% of the time)...

If pitcher is touching the pitching plate with both feet, she is now a pitcher; if hands touch and separate without removing from the pitching plate, we have a pitch. If overhand, or even not thrown at all, it is an illegal pitch.