ASA Black edge area of home plate
- Thread starter tscs000
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SevenBizzos
The R
It depends on where you get your intrepetation from. Under "Playing field", the plate is described as Home plate shall be made of rubber or other suitable material. It shall be a five-sided figure, 17 inches wide across the edge facing the pitcher’s plate. The sides shall be parallel to the inside lines of the batter’s box and shall be 8 1/2 inches long. The sides of the point facing the catcher shall be 12 inches long.
But under "Dimension Table" in the same section of the book it lists Home Plate as: 17” wide, sides parallel to the batter’s box line
and are 8 ½” long, sides of the point facing the catcher are 12” long. The width of the black edge is ¾”
It doesn't say specifically that the black edge is part of the plate, but you could make that assumption because it's listed in the dimension of it.
Most hardball and softball organizations just list the plate as a two-dimensional object that's 17" wide. Why ASA lists the edge in one area and not in the other is a mystery and confuses the point as to whether the edge is part of the plate or not.
Whether it's possible a pitched ball can only touch the black edge and make no contact with the traditional "plate" will take quite a long experiment to determine.....
But under "Dimension Table" in the same section of the book it lists Home Plate as: 17” wide, sides parallel to the batter’s box line
and are 8 ½” long, sides of the point facing the catcher are 12” long. The width of the black edge is ¾”
It doesn't say specifically that the black edge is part of the plate, but you could make that assumption because it's listed in the dimension of it.
Most hardball and softball organizations just list the plate as a two-dimensional object that's 17" wide. Why ASA lists the edge in one area and not in the other is a mystery and confuses the point as to whether the edge is part of the plate or not.
Whether it's possible a pitched ball can only touch the black edge and make no contact with the traditional "plate" will take quite a long experiment to determine.....
tscs000
Active Member
A ump the other night called a ball a strike, saying it hit the black edge of the plate. All it says in the ASA rule book, is any pitched ball that hits the plate and is not swung at by the batter is a ball. It does not mention the black edge.
sjury
The Old Man
rhound is right. The shape of the ball coming down on the plate, it is not possible for the ball to only hit the black as some part of the ball will contact the ground or the white plate. There is a "to scale" diagram floating around on the internet that shows this. I have been looking for it, and I hope to find it so I can post it here.
Gulf Coast Blue
Addicted to Softballfans
If the ball hits the black area it also hit the white. Use you local rules to figure it out from there.
Joel
Joel
Hebrew Hacker
Derby Jew
From a different thread:
Note that this is just for ASA, and other sanctions may differ. Utrip, for example, makes a clear distinction between the border and the plate, and does not consider the black to be part of the plate.
Note that this is just for ASA, and other sanctions may differ. Utrip, for example, makes a clear distinction between the border and the plate, and does not consider the black to be part of the plate.
USA All the wAy
Manager
I like the ASA interpretation of the ball not being able to hit the black with out hitting the pate.
But make no mistake the ball can most defintley clip the black edges of many home plates, it happens quite often.
And they are all not 3/4 of an inch some are pushing 2"s plus and are poorly installed in a lot of cases.
The black edge should never be exposed but it often is.......
But make no mistake the ball can most defintley clip the black edges of many home plates, it happens quite often.
And they are all not 3/4 of an inch some are pushing 2"s plus and are poorly installed in a lot of cases.
The black edge should never be exposed but it often is.......
rmp0012002
Addicted to Softballfans
It is most definitely possible to hit just the black. I was called on third strike on a beautiful pitch that hit the black on the back rear after setting up deep in the box and was the one spot I couldn't reach. As far as the black edge being exposed I've never seen a plate where it was covered unless it was a deep plate meant to be permanent and they aren't used anywhere I play.
Dakota Deerwood
Addicted to Softballfans
95% of the time, when the ball hits the black part of the plate, the umpire (in all associations) will call it a ball..
BigSam
Addicted to Softballfans
A properly buried plate should only have a tiny amount of black showing. Sadly most of them show a bunch of exposed black. This leads to many questionable/bad calls. I tend to call the black as if it were buried. So if a pitched ball lands beside/behind the plate and just nips the black, it would have been a good strike had the dirt been correct, and therefore it is a strike. Pitch thunks the plate it is a ball.
Keep in mind that I don't think I'm any better than other umpires who justify calling the black a strike, or calling the black the plate, or whatever they decide, so long as it is made clear to the players and it is consistent. Just another on the list of things we deal with that isn't quite perfect in the rules.
Keep in mind that I don't think I'm any better than other umpires who justify calling the black a strike, or calling the black the plate, or whatever they decide, so long as it is made clear to the players and it is consistent. Just another on the list of things we deal with that isn't quite perfect in the rules.
BretMan
Addicted to Softballfans
...or, without touching the ground.
"Pretty much impossible" sums it up for me, too. Unless you have some weird home plate with an extra large black beveled edge, or one that sticks way up out of the ground farther than normal, I just can't see a ball touching nothing but the black.
But, don't take my word for it. Try it for yourself. I have. Next time you're at the field, take a ball and try to hold it so it's touching just the black edge of the plate, without touching the ground or the corner where it meets the white.
SevenBizzos
The R
I'd like them to show me where the pitch passed through the strike zone then.
