At Pensacola: I witnessed 2 guys (not on my team) that got called out for stepping out of the front of the box; I have not seen this called since I started in 1999. If you're going to start calling the plate as a strike when you enter Senior Softball; then there has to be some adjustments of the front of the box. IMO: This is an important rule that needs to be addressed in ALL associations. Your opinions please!!


You cannot fool the man in the mirror!!!

Columbus LXL

Heck the batter has 40 inches to move in front of the plate, how much run up room does one need?
Play the other assn with the strike zone, they are all over.
All I can say is that it's about time they called them.

I've seen teams walk up to the box before the first game and wipe out the line at the front of the box so the umps cannot call it. No one seemed to care though. You do have a good point though in that the batters box should be adjusted to move forward as the strike zone moves. The line should be moved up the same distance as the length of the plate. That would make sense.

I have seem batters called out for that but it doesn't happen often. You see calls for stepping on the plate more than stepping outside the box.

That is a rule breaker they don't enforce.

Well, in our league we hit off a batters box mat that has the lines painted on. So there is no way to scrub out that forward line. It seems to me that any batter should be able to hit any pitch within that box without stepping out, but we do have guys who take a couple of steps forward as they move to hit the ball. I have heard that even if one foot is in the box it will not be called. I've heard that the umpire doesn't call it anyway because he is looking at other issues and is not conerned about that one. But then, one gets to serious playoff situations and the umpires there might well call it. I think it's a bad habit to get into simply for that reason.

You should have been in Reno recently at Golden Eagle Regional Park, with permanent artificial turf (unable to be "wiped") batter's boxes! ... All 12 batter's boxes there are exactly to official specification as to size (7' x 3') and location in relation to the "elbow" of the home plate, 3' back and 4' forward ... The front edge of the strike mats were placed at the front edge of the plates, also to spec ... There were over 300 games played there during the 10-day run, and probably more than 80 batters were called out for stepping out of the box ... The usual scenario was a couple of players per game got the out call, most often in early innings of the first day of each of the sessions, and the offenders were generally the younger age groups such as the 40's through 55's, and a few 60's ... Most of the older age groups were compliant with the batter's box rule ... By the second day of each session, calls were less frequent as players adapted to the environment of playing within the rules (and the batter's boxes) ... The inability of 1st inning batters to "wipe" the lines and open the hitting area beyond the rules allowances was unpopular, but compliance was relatively hasty! ...

My contention over recent years is that a batters box does not matter in anyway and should be eliminated.

No matter where you stand, you have to defend the mat. If a guy is up front, pitch it deeper. If he is deep, pitch short. With the back pitch line now back to 60 feet, who cares where he strides forward.

PS

However, they should keep the rule about not running at the pitcher like the left handed girls in fast pitch do.

If you pitch, the batter's box definitely mattters. Hitters that have no limits in moving up in the box take the short pitch out as a posssibility.

Runners first and second, wanna pitch the guy short and inside to try and get a ground ball to 3rd, that option is gone.

Try to pitch deep, and the ump says it's over the top....and only when hell freezes over on a blue moon, does an ump call a guy out for hitting a ball while out of the box.

Damn shame....to have rules that don't get enforced.

I agree Southernson. What I typically see are very tall HR hitters get way out in front of the plate so your short pitch can be taken through the chest and hit for a HR instead of it coming in near the knees where it would be a line drive or grounder. It gives you nowhere to throw.

I like my pitches high, up around the chest so I can lift the ball or go off-field so standing further up in the box makes that easier to do. I find when I move back in the box I am taking lower pitches which usually result in line-drives which is not what most pitchers want especially if the pitch is low and a little outside.

Taits: "Heck the batter has 40 inches to move in front of the plate, how much run up room does one need?" I have never seen this before!!! SPA in Pensy had about 8-10"!! There is some good input on this subject; but this is another question that should be put to the players in a Player Poll. I am talking it up with everyone that I know to push ALL associations for a PP. Hope it works.

Thanks for the input!!

You Cannot Fool the man in the mirror

Columbus LX L

We had another call in Knoxville this weekend and again the batters box was not correctly laid out. It is 4 feet to the front from center of the plate and 3 feet to the rear from center of the plate. Just a correct layout/marking would eliminate almost all of calls. We even as the TD to get it corrected and he refused.
Well we get what we pay for!!!!! LOL
The Hitman #13