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Author |
TOPIC: Pitching Mat |
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| Allan
May 11, 2011
8:36:18 AM
Entry #: 3722816
| "A strike mat is used (instead of a strike zone) for determining balls and strikes. Legally pitched balls not swung at by the batter and that hit any portion of the strike mat are to be called strikes. The home plate is not considered to be part of the strike mat. Runners attempting to score must avoid touching the strike mat and/or plate or they will be called out. For safety reasons there are no exceptions to this rule even if a play is not made at home plate. Example - Home Run over the fence batter still cannot touch the mat or plate."
Since the mat covers the 'triangle', lined up to the back corners of the plate, the 'triangle' portion of the mat is considered a ball when the ball lands? I'm a pitcher and want to clarify the rules. Thank you.
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| Chris
May 12, 2011
10:24:54 AM
Entry #: 3723870
| The strike mat should not cover any portion of home plate, It should have a triangle cut out that lines up with the plate.
I believe the issue of touching home plate was discussed last year and it was decided that there is a no-harm no-foul on this call. Calling someone out who hits a homerun just becasue he touches homeplate does not improve safety.
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| Dennis (Hosanna)
May 12, 2011
11:08:28 AM
Entry #: 3723923
| Chris is correctthe strike mat should have a cut out to fit around the tip of home plate so that this portion of the plate does not get covered by the mat.
As for a runner touching the plate or the strike mat, I wasn't at the meeting last year, so I don't know what was said about this then, but I was at the meeting the year before and proposed a clarification to our wording because people weren't sure about such cases.
My wording was intended to keep it the same as Softball Canada, which is that the runner must avoid stepping on the plate when there is a play being made. And if there is no play being made (e.g. on a home run or a runner from 3B scoring easily on an outfield hit), there would be no requirement to avoid the plate (because really, the catcher doesn't need to be at the plate if there is no play). And even if there is a play, the runner would be exempted if they were obstructed by the fielder without the ball the logic for this is that when the catcher is being drawn into the runner's path by a bad throw, the catcher is very vulnerable, so we want the runner to avoid contacting the catcher, and we don't want the runner to think about which way to alter their path. Just avoid the catcher!
BUT at that meeting (Fall 2009), the majority decided to make this prohibition absolute with no exceptions so that the runner is always out for stepping on plate/mat (and for passing the plate on the fair side). I don't know whether this was modified again at the Fall 2010 meeting.
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| Rudy W.
May 12, 2011
1:13:04 PM
Entry #: 3724077
| I don't recall it being discussed or changed at the fall 2010 meeting.
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