NFHS Softball Rules Committee revises three rules for '09

Although it voted not to change the pitching distance, the National Federation of State High School Associations Softball Rules Committee did revise three rules for the 2009 season in what it calls an attempt "to create more balance between pitching and batting in high school softball."

The first revision changes the penalty for a pitcher exceeding the 20-second time limit. Now, a ball will be awarded to the batter instead of the pitcher being charged with an illegal pitch, which had meant that runners were given one additional base.

"The change makes a violation of the time to pitch by the pitcher consistent with a batter failing to be ready within 10 seconds after the ball has been returned to the pitcher," Mary Struckhoff, NFHS assistant director and liaison to the softball rules committee, said in a release, adding that the illegal pitch penalty for that infraction was believed to be "excessive."

Secondly, the pitching windup requirement has been revised to a maximum of 1-1/2 clockwise revolutions.

"More and more, pitchers are pushing the rule to the limit in an attempt to gain an advantage by deceiving the batter," Struckhoff said. "The change will make an illegal pitch, as it relates to the windup, easier to identify and enforcement more consistent."

The rules committee also clarified the definition of an attempted bunt to mean holding the bat in the strike zone. Therefore, in order to take a pitch, the batter must withdraw the bat backward away from the ball.

The committee identified "three points of emphasis" for next season - pitching, obstruction/interference and the designated player/flex rule.

Posted by Carolyn Thornton  at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)