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I had a discussion with one of my senior base umpire between innings in a high school varsity game last week:
Me: “Are you seeing a crow hop or leap by the pitcher”
Base Umpire: “Yes, but the base coach has not said anything about it, and I’m not calling it until she says something”Where in the rules book does it say that we only call illegal pitches after an offensive coach has requested it?
Is this a common practice in most associations? When playoffs or cross region tournaments begin, illegal pitches begin to be called. In my opinion, this is unfair to the young ladies who have been pitching a certain way all season, and now, when the games are the most important, we are calling these same pitching motions illegal.
Absolutely agree with you Bill, and especially your point about how unfair it is for a pitcher who may end up in end of season play where the rules will be enforced and who now must make a complete adjustment of their delivery, usually to the detriment of their pitching performance. I do enforce during regular season, but I usually use it also as a teaching opportunity, so I will discuss it with the pitcher (and their coach) and coax them into a legal delivery. If none of that works, then the call must be made although I will reward “effort” if I see the pitcher struggling to make it right.
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