Strike mat

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by KJUmp

Meaning the shoulder to knee strike zone the pitcher would be pitching to in a game played without the strike mat?

Yep. Nothing as depressing as a nice 7' pitch crossing the batter's belt buckle standing at the plate only to be a ball because it didn't hit the mat.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by CecilOne

Oh, "defensive player positioned near the rubber ", like t-ball!

More like coach pitch, but yes.

[Umpteenth]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Played in an intramural league at PJC (Larry's knows what that is) and they allowed two pitches from you own player. Real simple, hit or sit. No count, no walks, no strike outs.

The games were great and competition good even for an intramural league.

Defense would put a player behind the pitcher, if they wanted. Pitcher couldn't touch the ball or get in the way, automatic out. Loved it!

I played in a similar league, geez it's been 30 years ago. (That can't be right! 30? Really?!) 2 pitches, pitch to your own. Anything hit over the fence was an out, so you had to put the ball in play.

[TwoBits]

Originally Posted by Tru_in_Blu

Interesting. The dynamics of hitting back through the box might change. What if the pitcher, after fielding a hard one-hopper, throws the ball over the dugout?

Interesting concept. Is there a player from the defensive team that plays near the pitching position?

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Tru_in_Blu

I searched but didn't find much except proposed rule changes.

One of our men's slow pitch league will be having a 1 week trial run with a strike mat. I don't suppose that's such a big deal.

I think the bigger deal is that they still want a ball that hits the plate to be called a ball. I find this to be counter-productive. Don't leagues that use the mat typically have anything that hits the combination of plate/mat called as a strike [assuming height requirements are met]?

I'd say they are looking for more consistency in how our guys are calling pitches, particularly deep balls.

I still think the slow pitch strike zone is just the goofiest thing... Hit the dang ball, Bubba!

All of the SP leagues that I have worked call a strike if the ball hits the plate or the mat.

I agree with KJ....easiest games to call, but can certainly lead to lazy umpiring.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by Umpteenth

I played in a similar league, geez it's been 30 years ago. (That can't be right! 30? Really?!) 2 pitches, pitch to your own. Anything hit over the fence was an out, so you had to put the ball in play.

Well, it's been 35/36 for me, so it couldn't have been the same.

[Tru_in_Blu]

Well, after one night of play with the mat, and a ball hitting the plate being called a ball, it changed.

Now we are using the plate/mat combination as the called strike area. Pitch hits dirt is a ball; if it hits any part of plate or mat, it's a strike.

Also amended pitch height to 6 to 12 feet. Guess the pitchers feel threatened with balls coming back at them if the restriction is 10 feet. But most of them don't live in the 10 to 12 foot range consistently. They throw as many flat pitches as they do over 12 feet. But if they feel safer, so be it.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by Tru_in_Blu

Also amended pitch height to 6 to 12 feet. Guess the pitchers feel threatened with balls coming back at them if the restriction is 10 feet. But most of them don't live in the 10 to 12 foot range consistently. They throw as many flat pitches as they do over 12 feet. But if they feel safer, so be it.

I love this part. For chrissakes, it's slowpitch softball. It isn't the pitch that causes the ball to come back up the middle.