Is she on or inside the batter’s box?
Hello Fastpitch Friends and foes, (Hopefully more friends than foes)
It was interesting to be at the WFSCA coaching clinic two weekends ago and listen to the speakers and chat with Billy Hillhouse, whom I’ve known since his breakout fastpitch pitching career at the ISC World Tournament in Salt Lake City. That was 1992 and Billy was a young phenom pitching for the Maryland Hurricanes. From there Billy joined up with Seattle's SeaFirst Bank and Jimmy Moore out of Seattle, Washington. Billy then left Seattle and played for Shelbyville, Indiana and then bounced around from team to team and eventually started to teach pitching to younger people, mainly girls. I enjoyed listening to him speak and of course chatting with him on the sidelines at the clinic.
Another one of the speakers was John Tschida who hails from St. Paul, Minnesota area and remains there, coaching at St. Thomas where he has been highly successful. He’s the only coach to have won national championships in NCAA history at two different schools. He won his first one with St. Mary’s of Winona, Minnesota. I’ve known John since before his coaching days as a player in the ISC tournament where he broke upon the scene by winning the World Tournament batting title in 2002 with a batting average of .615 (8x13) and was named to the ISC All World Team as an infielder. John is a much sought-after speaker for coaching clinics and has now been a presenter for at least two WFSCA statewide clinics.
As I sat and listened to a presentation about the steps in teaching lefty bunters and slap hitters I realized that there must be a differnce between NFHS rules and NCAA rules when it comes to the lines that frame in the batter’s boxes. I’m quite sure I heard that a batter must start completely within the confines of those lines and may not be standing on the lines. I may have heard it wrong but I don't think so.
At any rate a review or we'll call it a season preview tonight of that rule is in order.
Here is a case book ruling from the 2015 NFHS Case Book. It’s on page 49 and falls under Rule 7. The reference is Rule 7.4.8. When is a batter’s foot considered to be inside the batter’s box? RULING: The batter is considered to be in the batter’s box waiting for a pitch when the no part of either foot is touching the ground outside the boundary lines forming the batter’s box. The batter shall be called out for being out of the batter’s box when one foot or both feet are on the ground completely outside the boundary lines when the ball is hit. The batter is also called out when any part of a foot is touching home plate when she hits the ball. COMMENT: The lines of the batter’s box are with in the box. When taking a stance in the box, both of the batter’s feet shall be completely in the batter’s box (not touching the ground outside the batter’s box).
So there it is. However, here is where issues arise. 1) A coach who attends a coaching clinic hears something different and assumes that the information they just heard is the rule. A game takes place and a player from a team whose coach knows that the lines are considered to be within the batter’s box has a player step in and stand on one or two of those lines. Coach A who thinks a rule is being broken starts a conversation with one of the umpires and insists that they are correct. However, they are not correct. The coach whose batter was standing on (actually within by rule) then tries to point out the correct ruling and the umpire agrees with Coach A. This disagreement and subsequent, and perhaps heated, should not occur of everyone knows the rules as they are printed in the NFHS rules book. 2) Coach B’s batter steps in and the umpire notices that she has a foot or even both feet touching one of the lines of the batter’s box. The umpire calls “Time Out” and instructs the batter to get her feet completly within the batter’s box. The batter, stunned and confused because her coach knows the rules and has done a great job of teaching said rules, looks down to her coach for help. Her coach then approaches the umpire and insists that the batter can indeed be standing on the white lines and is legally “within” the batter’s box. In the end, as usually happens, the knowledgeable coach loses and is as frustrated as his/her batter.
Here is another interesting part of that rule that always amazes me. Really, how many of you can actually say that you have actually witnessed a batter make contact with a pitch when one of her feet is off the ground? It may have happened somewhere, sometime but in all the thousands of games I’ve played in, coached in and watched I can’t remember a single instance where a batter makes contact with a pitch with one foot off the ground. For kicks, just try this. Go outside and grab a bat and a ball. Now get ready to hit a fly ball to an outfielder or a grounder to an infielder. Now strike forward and try to hit that ball before your front foot touches the ground. Try it! Then try to hit a ball the same way while picking up your back foot and striding backwards about six to eight inches. Try it! After you try it let me know how successful you were. Now try this. Grab your bat. Get in your normal stance. Take a couple of practice swings as you would do prior to a pitch. Now imagine that pitch on its way toward you. Pick up your front foot and before it touches back down the floor or the dirt, simulate trying to hit that pitch. How clumsy did you feel trying to accomplish what some people actually argue happens. Rule 7.4.8 SITUATION B even covers this crazyness: B1 strides forward when making contact with the pitched ball. Her front foot ((a) is in the air when contact is made and it then lands completely outside the batter’s box, or (b) is partially on the line of the batter’s box when contact is made, or (c) is on the ground completely outside the line of the batter’s box when contact is made. RULING: In (a) and 9B), this is leagl but in (c) the batter is out for making contact with the pitched ball while being out of the batter’s box. The ball is dead immediately.
Last season I witnessed a game where a batter was outside the batter’s box when she made contact with the ball. Her stride foot had naturally gone forward and struck the ground before she made contact (as it always does). The defensive coach questioned vociferously that the batter should have been called out. The umpire’s response was: “Coach she hit that ball when her front foot was in the air before it hit the ground outside the box.”
Perhaps it did, chances are it didn't and is but highly doubtful.
I checked my rules book as soon as I got home that day to be sure I knew the high school rule.
I did!
My hope now is that every single umpire in the state and every single coach in the state knows the rule too. What will you do to make sure your entire coaching staff knows the rule and so do your players? What can you do to make sure that the umpires for your next game know the correct ruling too?
I had a pitching lesson today where the pitcher’s father asked, “Our coach told us that she has to present the ball to the batter before she can pitch it. Is that correct?”
At one time it was correct. That day and age was about 30+ years ago. Yet I’ve heard umpires and watched umpires in the past few years tell our pitchers that they must “show the ball” before they pitch it.
I’m going to bone up on rule #6 some more tonight. Which one will you bone up on tomorrow?
That brings me to this question.
“Are we playing by all the rules today?”
Have a great day!
Keep it Rising!
Bob
