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Online now: 4 members: STL0, TABLE SETTER 11, ZIM 7, tg69; 73 anonymousDiscussion: Excessive Speed Pitch
| Posted | Discussion |
| Nov. 4, 2018 baseballbill 137 posts | Excessive Speed Pitch Is it possible for a legal pitch (going between 6 and 12 feet), which hits the strike mat be called for excessive speed ?????? |
| Nov. 4, 2018 B.J. 1106 posts | I've never seen it done.. the excessive speed pitches I have called were always flat pitches.. if it is called the pitcher should also be given a warning that if he does it again he will be removed from the pitching position for the remainder of the game |
| Nov. 4, 2018 jfsully 82 posts | To add to the question : Is it possible to pitch under six feet and still get the ball to the plate without "excessive speed"? ... (I think the ASA softball book refers tot he pitch as to being delivered at "moderate speed"?) We have tried to get a pitch to hit the "strike mat" while throwing under six feet and it doesn't seem to get there unless thrown with noticeable speed. (Im sure an engineer, physicist or mathematician among us can figure out the scientific answer.) |
| Nov. 5, 2018 doker Men's 60 185 posts | This has been a big bugaboo to me as i pitch!!! and i have too many umps calling pitches flat on me when i throw my pitches at almost the same speed all the time!!! i contest that it is physically impossible to throw a pitch the fifty feet between the pitchers rubber and the mat at a slow pace without reaching the six foot level!!!! As i normally pitch close to the 12 ft level and i suddenly throw one lower at the six feet level they(umps) can't handle that lower look even though it hits the mat!!!! and they call it illegal or flat !!!! when it isn't!!! Just my two cents on the subject!!! |
| Nov. 5, 2018 Nancy Allen Men's 55 1438 posts | I have to agree with BJ on flat and fast usually go hand in hand. Because of the area that I live in, I have done a lot of Utrip, and there are pitchers who can get a hump in it and pitch much lower without throwing it fast. I am not going to figure this out mathematically unless I get really bored. The grounds crew still looks at me weird when I tell them the distance to 2nd base from home plate. How did you do that? The Pythagorean Theorem. |
| Nov. 5, 2018 B.J. 1106 posts | Nancy, I haven't worked u-trip in many years but isn't there arc 3 to 10 .. at 3 ft yes I can see them reaching the plate easier |
| Nov. 5, 2018 Nancy Allen Men's 55 1438 posts | BJ, their rule states 3' from the point of release, but here in the Midwest, let's just say that 3' is what they are getting from umpires. I was told at a regional tournament to only give them 8'. I didn't say a word, but if that is the case, then they need to change their rule. Yes, some do gripe a little if you give the pitcher anything over 8', but it's their rulebook. After years of NSA and ASA (now USA Softball) and some others, I am surprised that at that low height that (good) pitchers can throw and get a hump in it without being too fast. Of course as you can imagine there are those that think that they are pitching that but just are not doing it. A friend of mine played a tournament just over the river from Louisville. He said that the pitcher accidently dumped the ball. It rolled across the plate. The umpire said that it was a strike because it was 3' at its highest point. I have never heard anyone use the argument on the release plus 3' which surprises me. Unless you are scraping the ground, it is never 3'. It is definitely a different game but pretty easy to umpire at the plate. |
| Nov. 5, 2018 17Black Men's 60 414 posts | playing in a new senior league in Cleveland that uses a pitching screen. Screen is exactly 6 feet. You have to pitch "over the screen" which takes all flat pitches and excessive speed calls out of equation. And the pitcher can still field the ball too, but he is protected from any screamer up the middle. This leaves the ump with only one other legitimate judgement call pitching (maximum height of the pitch) I was skeptical this past season but the screen and no flat pitching worked out very well. |
| Nov. 5, 2018 jfsully 82 posts | 17Black : Most of those screens are at least 74-76 inches tall(6'2" to 6'4"). Are you sure yours is exactly 6 feet? The other question is technical and seemingly nitpicky : is it the top of the ball that has to REACH six feet or does the bottom of the ball have to be over 6 feet? If it is the top of the ball reaching that height, you are forcing a pitcher to throw ore than 6 feet with pitching over a screen. (Doker :I totally agree, we have tried to experiment pitching under six feet and get it to the mat, we cant do it unless its almost a fastball) |
| Nov. 7, 2018 Gavin5 Men's 70 30 posts | Laws of physics seem to conclude that a given object (softball) traveling a given distance (50 feet) and reaching a given height (say 6 feet) must reach one and only one certain ball speed. Cannot change speed with changing the height and still hit the plate. You can increase ball speed by stepping back and delivering from the 60 foot hash line. But time of flight increases. Not sure what your objective is. |
