ASA 18A going to 43 feet?

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From SpySoftball.com:

The ASA Council approved a resolution today which extends the pitching distance for 18A from 40 to 43 feet, effective with the 2008 season.

From Me: Good!

 

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I say good, too---personally think it should be all through highschool.

Talked with a local college coach who told me of some very capable pitchers who had jitters when they started pitching for him because of the 3 foot change. ?Seems (to me, at least) that having the girls throw from the further distance could only help them later.

 

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My dd has played tournaments and showcases where she pitched at 43 ft and didn't seem to mind at all. ? I don't think at 14 or 15 she would have been ready for the 43 ft but I guess that depends on what is considered ready. ? ?She probably would not have been physically strong enough to pitch effectively at 43 ft against the 18 year old players as happens in high school. ?

 

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It won't make much difference in ASA-A, but if they ever move it for high school, the ERAs may rise from .33 to .79...

;D ;D

 

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It won't make much difference in ASA-A, but if they ever move it for high school, the ERAs may rise from .33 to .79...

;D ;D

More like 3.3 to 7.9

 

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Here we go again on this subject. Almost every year around this time. It would be interesting to look up how many hits it got the last time around.

 

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SB - you beat me to the punch! This topic has been beaten to a pulp!

 

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Florida HS if I am not mistaken, and based upon what a Floridian indicated this past week at the ASA council meeting has been a 'test market' for 43' the past three years. I would look for the Federation to make changes in the near future that changes the high school rule of 40' to 43'.

JMHO.

Patty

 

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If the era does move up, that should be good for softball. People like to see runs score. It has been too much of a pitcher's game. Personally, I think the elite pitchers will still be elite.

 

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I may be way off base here?the batters box, I think is 36 inches from the back corner of home plate rearward and 48 inches forward or 84 inches front to back. I guess it may vary ASA, NSA, state to state high school rules etc. At 40 feet I would guess the release point to be 34 to 35 feet for most pitchers. Now at 43 feet it may be 37 to 38 feet.

I see high school and select coaches? mandate for the hitter to stand at the front edge of the batters box at 40 feet now, if there is even one marked out legally. This speeds up the ball and lessens the hitter?s ability to recognize the speed and spin of the pitch. A pitcher that has a good change up and a faster pitch usually makes those hitters look ugly. I can hear some of you saying catch it before it breaks or drops or rises. None of the quality coaches I know believe that theory. Look at the college, Elite World Teams and NPF hitters and they adjust according to who is pitching and what their speed and best pitch is?well not all college teams maybe. This is why we teach our hitters to move in the box during the pitchers motion, so she will have to make choices also.

The pitchers job is to upset the hitter?s rhythm and timing and to make the hitter and the umpire make choices. The great pitchers and hitters know how to make those adjustments. Look at your World Cup games?good hitter?s and pitchers have made those adjustments and we will also to 43 feet. It is not that big a thing.

 

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I do not care if the pitching rubber is at 40' or 43' but I am irritated when I hear people say that fast pitch has been a pitchers game too long and that people want to see more runs. ? If that is really true then lets move the pitching rubber back to 60'6" like the boys and lets have us a hit fest, ?or maybe play slow pitch. ? I bet there would be even more hits if we took the ball and set it right there at home plate on a device to hold it right were the hitter wants it, ?a tee.

 

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Easy there Timac... there is a reason that they call this fastpitch softball... not baseball, not slowpitch, not t-ball. Seriously, the only people that are happy about a 1-0 game is the winning pitcher, her parents and the winning coach. The other 8 girls taking the fields would love to get some hits and score some runs. I have seen some slow pitch games (by accident) and the 20-14 scores are very boring..... there is a happy medium there..... and in probably most of the games we achieve it. I think that the extra three feet is going to be rather insignificant but may account for a few runs here and there.

 

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fast2home i am kidding just a bit. ? i always find it funny when people say the like something and then say they don't like the characteristics that make it what it is. ?it's like going to the zoo and saying i love those zebras but we have to get rid of those stripes. ? fast pitch softball has always been a pitchers game, ?even back when it was only a mens game. ? i've known pitchers who you weren't going to hit off of if they pitched from 60 feet. ? just stirring the pot in fun. ?IMHO though i do think that is what makes fast pitch so intense is that the games are not usually slugfests and every hit, ?every defensive play and every run is much more important than in baseball or slow pitch. ?

 

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Sounds right to me.... like I said, it may have a little impact, maybe a few extra hits but I don't expect it to change much.