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Member
As an umpire myself, I might be risking getting myself into trouble with my fellow brothers in blue. So, here's a little insight into the illegal pitch. It is a pass/fail situation. It's a go/no-go situation. It's like being pregnant...you either ARE pregnant, or you are not. You are either breaking the law, or you are not. There are no levels of an illegal pitch.
If a pitcher removes her pivot foot from the rubber or ground & replants that foot any amount forward prior to the release of the pitch, that pitch is illegal. It makes no difference if her "replant" is only a few inches in front of the rubber, thus not really gaining much advantage.
If the foot is lifted off of the ground & replanted, then it is illegal. Is it not???
(Yes I heard this today, "Coach, she's only moving her pivot foot 6-8"...it's not THAT bad...don't nitpick". <---I wanted to throw up in my mouth. I won't disclose the tournament or the sanctioning body, because you can read about disappointments with every umpiring association under the sun right here every weekend so I will spare them the embarrassment.
There...I thought I would go ahead & post this publicly for the benefit of all coaches and umpires who read this mini-rant.
Feel free to chime in.....
CZ
If a pitcher removes her pivot foot from the rubber or ground & replants that foot any amount forward prior to the release of the pitch, that pitch is illegal. It makes no difference if her "replant" is only a few inches in front of the rubber, thus not really gaining much advantage.
If the foot is lifted off of the ground & replanted, then it is illegal. Is it not???
(Yes I heard this today, "Coach, she's only moving her pivot foot 6-8"...it's not THAT bad...don't nitpick". <---I wanted to throw up in my mouth. I won't disclose the tournament or the sanctioning body, because you can read about disappointments with every umpiring association under the sun right here every weekend so I will spare them the embarrassment.
There...I thought I would go ahead & post this publicly for the benefit of all coaches and umpires who read this mini-rant.
Feel free to chime in.....
CZ