Softball pitchers to take a step back

High school softball pitchers will gain three feet of safety in 2010.

The IHSA Board of Directors voted unanimously Monday to move the pitcher's rubber back three feet, to 43 feet, to help decrease the potential of injury to pitchers.

"The big thing we discussed is safety for the pitcher," said board president Jim Woodward, principal of Anna-Jonesboro High School. "There have been more injuries in softball the last few years. For pitchers, the release point with a 40-foot mound is probably 37 feet."

Woodward, citing participation in club and high-level travel softball, noted that most pitchers throw from a 43-foot mound the rest of the year anyway.

"Some people said, 'What, shouldn't they be allowed to get used to the change?' They change already."

Woodward said the IHSA didn't have a breakdown of specific injuries in softball, and thus couldn't definitely say that injuries to pitchers from batted balls are up. However, with the national governing body of prep sports moving the distance back to 43 feet in 2011, the IHSA decided to accelerate the move.

The National Federation of State High School Associations changed the distance primarily to get the ball into play more often. The move was under discussion for 10 years. Florida and Oregon had experimented with a 43-foot distance to the plate in recent years.

"It'll be more of a hitter's sport," Crete-Monee coach Sue Giannantonio said. "It's going to be better."

The move might also help the better pitchers.

"It¹s an advantage for pitchers, because the ball will break more," Marist coach Denise Fasano said. "It will make the game more exciting for defense and offense."

Fasano also believed the move to the college distance will help get pitchers ready for college play more quickly.

"Personally, I don't think it's going to be bad to get more offense into the game," Woodward said, adding that the softball coach at his high school, with two dominant pitchers returning in 2010, was against the change.

Evergreen Park athletic director Jim Soldan expected the move, but not so early in the school year.

"It's great that they made the decision now, because kids can start practicing at 43 feet right away," Soldan said. "If it came right before the season, you would have seen some crazy pitching."

There is no plan at the moment to make wearing a mask mandatory for pitchers, but Woodward noted that, with the mound moved back, the pitcher may not be the closest player in front of the batter.

"If we can get a helmet company that makes a mask make one for fielders, we could mandate the third baseman wear a mask," Woodward said. "The mound is moving back, but (third basemen are) not going to move back. They'll stay up."

Giannantonio was in favor of making masks mandatory for all infielders.

Crete-Monee has had masks on batting helmets for years.

"To prevent somebody from being scarred for a lifetime because of one play, I'd be all for it," Giannantonio said.