LL world series

[Rita C]

Originally Posted by RKBUmp

The one pitcher for Virginia was illegal on virtually every pitch, constantly bringing hands together multiple times. There were a few instances where I actually saw her pitching the ball into her glove while standing on the pitching plate. But, the girl that pitched for AZ in the championship game was also illegal on virtually every pitch. She was stepping on and had her hands coming together while stepping on, sometimes they were even together before she was on.

I have no idea what the one IP he called on the AZ girl was for. Looked fine to me except she lost her balance a little and kind of shuffled her feet on the pitching plate.

One of my frustrations with softball around here is that I am THE ONLY ONE who calls illegal pitches in the lower levels of ball (Little League). I'm trying to get others trained to do so. But it means conquering the attitude that "we just want it over the plate. who cares how it gets there".

These girls then move on to freshman or JV ball where the new guys work who also don't know what an illegal pitch is yet or how to call it. No one calls it till they get to varsity and, quite honestly, a precious few do so. So most of the coaches don't bother correcting form at all, choosing to let the pitchers pitch anyway they want until they get to an umpire who will call it.

I'm getting better at calling the illegal pitches but it's no fun doing it because the pitchers have their illegal motion ingrained and keep repeating the illegal action. Last year, varsity pitcher kept stepping back after her hands came together. Coach didn't understand what I was calling.

In baseball, at least the coaches have some idea what a balk is and will correct their pitchers, or put in a new one till they can work the problem out. Softball, they only have the one, maybe two, pitchers.

Vent over.

Rita

[SWFLguy]

Re: illegal pitches.
I agree. Maybe it's time for the rules folks/powers that be to take a long look at pitching and do a study of which actions really put batters at a disadvantage and which do not. I find it a bit of a stretch in many instances where some of those actions deemed illegal really make a difference. I could be wrong, but it has become such an issue it might call for consideration.

[RKBUmp]

Originally Posted by SWFLguy

Re: illegal pitches.
I agree. Maybe it's time for the rules folks/powers that be to take a long look at pitching and do a study of which actions really put batters at a disadvantage and which do not. I find it a bit of a stretch in many instances where some of those actions deemed illegal really make a difference. I could be wrong, but it has become such an issue it might call for consideration.

Yes, some of the pitching rules probably need to be looked at, but the bigger problem is the umpires who pick and choose what they call. Or, the ones who call nothing and then we that do get yelled at because little Suzie has never been called in her life even though her drag foot is 2' off the ground. Not calling the rules as they are written, especially when the girls are younger is a real disservice to them. Sooner or later they are going to run into an umpire that is calling per the rule book and they wont be able to fix it, and usually it happens at nationals.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by RKBUmp

Yes, some of the pitching rules probably need to be looked at, but the bigger problem is the umpires who pick and choose what they call. Or, the ones who call nothing and then we that do get yelled at because little Suzie has never been called in her life even though her drag foot is 2' off the ground. Not calling the rules as they are written, especially when the girls are younger is a real disservice to them. Sooner or later they are going to run into an umpire that is calling per the rule book and they wont be able to fix it, and usually it happens at nationals.

Or in a state HS tournament final.

A girl, essentially, pitched sidearm the entire season. Nobody called anything all season. They get to state. Nobody calls IPs during the state semifinal game. They are blatantly obvious, even to this guy who doesn't work softball anymore.

Umpires are told to call it during the final. They call about 13 against the girl and the team gets hammered. Complete disaster. I felt for everyone, including the umpires told to crack the whip in a state final game (who did as they were told).

[HugoTafurst]

Originally Posted by Rich

Or in a state HS tournament final.

A girl, essentially, pitched sidearm the entire season. Nobody called anything all season. They get to state. Nobody calls IPs during the state semifinal game. They are blatantly obvious, even to this guy who doesn't work softball anymore.

Umpires are told to call it during the final. They call about 13 against the girl and the team gets hammered. Complete disaster. I felt for everyone, including the umpires told to crack the whip in a state final game (who did as they were told).

Pretty much the same thing happened in FL one year.

HOWEVER, I would be cautious about believing a coach who claims that "No one has called that all year."
I can't count the times I've been told that only to run into other umpires who have called the exact same illegal pitch.

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by HugoTafurst

Pretty much the same thing happened in FL one year.

HOWEVER, I would be cautious about believing a coach who claims that "No one has called that all year."
I can't count the times I've been told that only to run into other umpires who have called the exact same illegal pitch.

Better yet, I had a pitcher tell her coach that I was the umpire that called the same thing on her the week before.

[HugoTafurst]

Originally Posted by AtlUmpSteve

Better yet, I had a pitcher tell her coach that I was the umpire that called the same thing on her the week before.

That's great, when the pitcher has to tell him (or her)!

I had one (during a HS Regional Semi) where I called the pitcher for stepping outside the 24....
As I was thinking "oh boy, now I gotta explain this", the catcher tells me "she gets that called that all the time".

Two pitches later she does it again, but this time the coach asks to talk to me and says, "I don't understand it, she's never done that before"
I just told her, "well, she's doing it now and it's illegal"

Coach took her out of the game... put in studdette number two and went on to win the game in 9 innings.....