Are Batter's boxe's a thing of the Past?

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Have been to about 7 tournaments this year and seen very few boxe's! Why?

Take too long to put them down or what? Just came from the state tourney and did not see any their.
:-?

 

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I too was wondering if the price of chalk has gone up or what?? ;D .. If teams keep paying for and going to tourney's with poor field maintenance and do not voice a concern .. it will likely continue. SAD!

 

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Our team had many discussions about this at A States too. A few situations came up where a box would have definitely made a difference in the play. We thought it was just because of the rain delays and the rush to get fields ready on Friday. But that was not an excuse for Saturday and Sunday. Looks like States is back there next summer so get your opinions in now if you want it changed.

 

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We've had no batter's boxes in many of the tournaments this summer. Not only could it make a difference in a play, but it's risky for the pitcher. I saw one of girls take a hard line shot to the hip. The batter would have standing about 2 feet out of the front of the box had there been one.

 

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We were in Loudonville this weekend and their crews did an outstanding job on the fields and lined, boxed and wet down each field each game!

Kudo's to them!

 

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TD's if you are reading this get those box'es down !!!!! It's safety issue. Blue can't keepem' in the box if there is'nt any box !! Some umps are caring enough to at least take the bat and draw a line but that should not have to be done if there was a box. I've seen it all in the past month. Girls getting beaned while standing on the plate , girls against fast pitching being 6 feet behind the plate, slappers way out . We need the box. MD

 

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With all the dry weather in northern Ohio, a little water wouldn't hurt either. They line the field and batters box, then the first slide or gust of wind blows it all away.

 

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Even if there's no box drawn, the requirements for being in the box are still to be enforced. I can see how there might be some questions if a batter is a couple of inches out of where the box is supposed to be. But some of the posts here describe batters as being a couple of feet out of the box! That is a fairly easy call for the umpire. While a few inches might be hard to judge with no lines, a few feet is pretty easy to see.

If a batter is "two feet in front of the box", she would be nearly six feet in front of home plate! The batter's box itself extends nearly four feet in front of the plate. Easy call!

The box extends about three feet behind the plate. If a batter is really standing "six feet behind the plate" she going to be standing behind the catcher and umpire. An even easier call!

With no lines drawn, in some respects it makes the umpire's job even easier. Now the batter's placement in the box becomes 100% umpire judgement and that judgement is final.

My pet peeve, even more than no box being chalked-out, is when the boxes are drawn but drawn improperly. This usually causes more confusion and game delays to get it fixed. I have seen boxes drawn backwards (extending three feet forward and four feet back) and- my personal favorite- boxes drawn to the specifications of a baseball box, which is quite different from the softball batter's box.

 

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We had one of our opponents called out of the box this weekend by the men in blue..... and the properly prepped field made it easy for him to call...

 

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It's a slappers DREAM!!!!! ;D ;D

 

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We were at a tourney .. I think Chain Reaction .. where they used pre-made plasic (looked like it was made of plastic piping glued together). It was set over the plate a pre-measured distance and then picked up to make a perfect box in the dirt for the field crew to chalk. Great idea. Inexpensive .. (Perhaps I will market it). I was very impressed and pleased to see a batters box at all .. nevermind one that was done correctly. Props to the crew!

 

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Such devices- called templates- are already commercially available. But you can build one yourself rather cheaply.

Maybe you could market a cheaper version of what's already out there! ?

 

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if there is no box- then the call should not be made.

the boxes aren't just for the umps-- the slappers need them too. how fair is it to call a girl out of a box that doesn't exist?? she needs the boundries to help her stay in the box. the lines help her a lot because she is actually busy doing something else-- hitting! She is too busy to try and "judge" how far ahead of the plate she is (because it is behind her) and she is busy watching a pitch that is in front of her!

 

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It may be a little hard for both to judge if she is too far away from the plate but when the batters toe is touching the edge of the plate it is obvious and should be called. I mean anyone should be able to that that is out of the box. If not your leaving that girl at risk of getting accidentally nailed with a pitch.

 

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With no box drawn, I wouldn't say that this should never be called. But you have to give the players the benefit of the doubt. It's not their fault the boxes aren't there and judging if the batter is a few inches past some imaginary line is practically impossible.

With no lines drawn the umpire should not make this call unless the infraction is blatant. While judging if the batter is a few inches out of the box is impossible, if she is more than a couple of feet out, or if her foot is entirely in front of or touching the plate, can be an easy call.

 

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I agree Bman

but my point is-- what can the player use to judge/keep themselves within the bounds

 

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All she has is her knowledge of where the approximate batter's box should be and a feel for where she is standing in relation to the plate. In short, she has the exact same frame of reference as the umpire making the call!

 

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Watching the Ohio Ice & Lasers Orange on Saturday, this came into play. After the Ice jumped out in the top of the 1st with 3 or 4 runs, the Orangs was seeking to answer. Bottom of 1st, a nicely executed slap for a hit with a runner on 1st looked as if the Orange would get a comeback rally going with runners on 1st & 3rd (likely, soon to be 2nd & 3rd no doubt). The Ump made an "out of the box" call though and it ended up being runner on 1st one out (... fizzzzzzzzle .....).

No box, slap seemed okay, "most" everyone seemed surprised. Game changed. Batters Box would have helped.

Not saying it decided the game, Ice crushed the ball and deserved to win. But, it's a shame that a crucial momentum changing "JUDGMENT" call like that happens in a questionable way, in a key game like that at the State Championship tournament. A box would have helped to either eliminate the situation (aid to batter), or support/document the call for the Ump.

 

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A slap hitter should have it ingrained in their head where the box is as they hit. If all they do is slap, they subconciously know where the line is without looking, whether they are up in the box, back in the box, etc. line or no line. If they are trying to track the line and the ball at the same time, they are doing themselves a disservice. If they are out of the box, or no box, they will get called 2% of the time. Focus on the task at hand and let the chips fall where they may.

How about we use invisible fences with electric bracelets, oh yeah, no jewelry allowed

 

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Lines are definitely needed when enforcing this rule. We have played a few places where the lines weren't put back down between games. Later in the day it was open for all of the slapper's . I hope the idea of keeping the fields lined doesn't end up like enforcing the illegal pitches due to crow hops, presentation, receiving the signs, and step back - foot placement issues. LOL ;D