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[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by CecilOne

Please correct me if "pushing off from a spot other than the pitching plate" legal; regardless of whether the pivot foot leaves the ground or not to get there.

Also please correct me if the "argument" that it is legal because they didn't leap nor "hop" is a misunderstanding of the rule.

It is, and always was, illegal. But, the argument gained some short-lived credibility (first known as the California drag), because the umpires there attempted to call it a crow hop, and it apparently wasn't by the wording of the definition at that time. Again, if they had simply stated it was illegal to push off from any place other than the pitcher's plate (a separate rule that DID exist at that time), it would have died, and "crow-drag" never would have been coined (you know there was no way it would be termed "California drag" in the era of California claiming ownership of all things fastpitch).