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Watched a college game this weekend.  One team's RHP pitchers from a windup, started with feet atop the rubber toes at the catcher.  Took their rocker with left foot at 45 degrees back, and their right foot was moved into a hole in front of rubber with heel in the hole.  Toes at toward catcher slightly, with heel in hole, toes toward the catcher clearly out of the hole.

The pitcher was 6'7" and his foot position may put him potentially 5"-10"  closer to home plate than a foot placed laterally to the rubber. 

Is that legal?
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Originally Posted by ThrowHarderFaster:
Watched a college game this weekend.  One team's RHP pitchers from a windup, started with feet atop the rubber toes at the catcher.  Took their rocker with left foot at 45 degrees back, and their right foot was moved into a hole in front of rubber with heel in the hole.  Toes at toward catcher slightly, with heel in hole, toes toward the catcher clearly out of the hole.

The pitcher was 6'7" and his foot position may put him potentially 5"-10"  closer to home plate than a foot placed laterally to the rubber. 

Is that legal?

Can you post a picture or video?  What do the rules state by the way?  Foot against rubber? 

Originally Posted by ThrowHarderFaster:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5bdk...8%2048%20PM.mov?dl=0

It's very grainy but u can see his heel go in the hole in front of rubber, toe out of hole toward catcher and his foot doesn't turn to parallel to rubber.

So my question is, with just the heel of the right foot touching the rubber.  Is this legal?  Or a balk or what?

Yes, it's legal. He just has to have contact with the rubber. In practice, even being slightly off the rubber in the hole is allowable.

Originally Posted by ThrowHarderFaster:

       
So I can tell my pitching students to point their toe at the catcher and heel against the front of the rubber and pitch?  Basically, gaining the length of their foot toward the batter ?   (Sorry, I'm not buying it).

       
just have to have contact.  Doesn't matter how.
Originally Posted by Matt13:
Originally Posted by ThrowHarderFaster:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5bdk...8%2048%20PM.mov?dl=0

It's very grainy but u can see his heel go in the hole in front of rubber, toe out of hole toward catcher and his foot doesn't turn to parallel to rubber.

So my question is, with just the heel of the right foot touching the rubber.  Is this legal?  Or a balk or what?

Yes, it's legal. He just has to have contact with the rubber. In practice, even being slightly off the rubber in the hole is allowable.

ThrowHarderFaster,

Coming from an umpire, Matt13 gave you the correct answer the first time.

I'm not seeing anything crazy in the video.  If the toes of the pivot foot are turned slightly toward the catcher, it's nothing to write home about.

 

If you want to teach your pitchers to have their pivot foot perpendicular to the rubber when they go to throw, by all means, teach them that.  Just don't question your methods when they have arm problems because of the lack of hip/trunk rotation.

Originally Posted by sull0611:

The main rule for windup is that the pivot foot in contact with rubber, the non pivot foot must be on or behind imaginary line running through the pitching rubber.

That's the FED rule.  The OP was about college, and college does not have that restriction on the free foot.

 

Oh -- on the OP -- it's legal.

Heel below the toe is a very poor athletic position.  I can't imagine any pitcher throwing well doing that.  Now if the ball of his foot were in the hole with heel above toe, that would be a different story.

 

Also there are mounds that are so hard they have no hole.  These mounds actually benefit the low heel guys.

I am not sure of the NCAA or OBR vergiage, but in 2014 NFHS did change the rule where the pivot foot must be parallel to the rubber.

 

This was a point of emphasis to eliminate the "hybrid" set position, so the runner could clearly identify the difference between a set and widnup.

 

Reference

NFHS 2014 Baseball Rules Changes

6-1-3

ART. 3 . . . For the set position the pitcher shall have the ball in either his gloved hand or

pitching hand. His pitching hand shall be down at his side or behind his back. Before starting

the delivery, he shall stand with his entire non-pivot foot in front of a line extending through

the front edge of the pitcher’s plate and with his entire pivot foot in contact with or directly

in front of

 

and parallel to the pitcher’s plate...any other infielder.

Yeh, why not, as long as you're touching the mound, you could do that.  You could also drive a car with your feet, but that doesn't make it a good idea.

 

To get the most out of my leg drive and hip speed I always felt like having my back foot heel be very slightly off the rubber was best.  It just felt right to me.  I have also noticed this in a lot of other pro pitchers.

Originally Posted by NewUmpire:

I am not sure of the NCAA or OBR vergiage, but in 2014 NFHS did change the rule where the pivot foot must be parallel to the rubber.

 

This was a point of emphasis to eliminate the "hybrid" set position, so the runner could clearly identify the difference between a set and widnup.

 

Reference

NFHS 2014 Baseball Rules Changes

6-1-3

ART. 3 . . . For the set position the pitcher shall have the ball in either his gloved hand or

pitching hand. His pitching hand shall be down at his side or behind his back. Before starting

the delivery, he shall stand with his entire non-pivot foot in front of a line extending through

the front edge of the pitcher’s plate and with his entire pivot foot in contact with or directly

in front of

 

and parallel to the pitcher’s plate...any other infielder.

Please note that we are talking about the windup position. Also note that the position, in all rule sets, is defined at the time the pitcher engages the rubber intentionally. Foot position after the pitch has started is irrelevant to defining the position. In this case, the question is what can the pivot foot do in the windup after the pitch has started and before it is released.

Last edited by Matt13

What I saw (or may have seen) is this:

 

He comesthrough the windup with his heel touching the rubber and his toes pointed forward. As he does so, he then wheels on the ball of the pivot foot and repositions the pivot foot into a position perpendicular to the pitcher's plate, but now, becuase of the original position of the heel on the rubber, he's gained 10"-12" out in front of the rubber. It's intriguing isf that is what's going on.

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