Rule Changes - All Associations

[Stump]

What are some rule changes ball players would be in favor of adopting for championship levels of play? Not local league rules, but tournament and conference type play? This could be for one or all associations?

Just curious, and this was posted here because I want ballplayer opinions rather than just umpires.

For me: USA Softball and stealing . . .

 

[Country469]

Wood bats for everyone, lets see who can actually hit and who needs glass and fire sticks. Oh, lets bring strategy and defense back into the game too while we are it.....

 

[jbo911]

Enforce the batters box.

Enforce the strike zone.

Get rid of the classic m.

Remove the excessive speed rule from utrip. If you want to limit the speed of my pitch fix your Arc requirements.

You know, the usual.

 

[lukeamdman]

Hitting the plate is a strike...arc/speed is irrelevant.

Make a softer yet not quite as bouncy ball (47/250 maybe?).

Wood or single wall aluminum bats.

 

[Donger73]

USA softball:
1. Adopt the pitchers box for all levels of play
2. Flat pass/fail number for bat testing, way too much variance between manufacturers
3. All players/teams required to online register similar to USSSA in order to be eligible

 

[SandyWH]

unlimited arc heights - if it crosses the batter as a strike, its a strike. Stop making the game easier for the hitters

the batter's strikezone is in relation to where the batter was as the pitch was released. - more and more batters are starting in the back of the box and if the pitch nears the arc limit moving forward to have ball drop over the back shoulder

 

[hitless45]

Wood bats for everyone, lets see who can actually hit and who needs glass and fire sticks. Oh, lets bring strategy and defense back into the game too while we are it.....

^^^ aluminum bats would suffice..

Hitting the plate is a strike...arc/speed is irrelevant.

Make a softer yet not quite as bouncy ball (47/250 maybe?).

Wood or single wall aluminum bats.

^^^ even doublewall would be gtg .. and absolutely the plate should be a strike!!

 

[ShortYellowBus]

A lot of interesting yet repetitive things mentioned. How about we go the other way around?

Eliminate cheaters by removing all the rules. Bat companies can produce the highest performing bats without a safety restriction. Let’s go superhero level with the bats; Titanium, composite, vibranium, etc.

Losing teams pay for the keg at half time. Yes, adds a half time for drinking beer.

Beer league meets outlaw.

Seriously though, a lot of the issues with Softball in general could be solved by switching to wood bats.

 

[kvander]

Seriously though, a lot of the issues with Softball in general could be solved by switching to wood bats.

While escalating the biggest issue with softball, decreasing participation

 

[Country469]

Yeah, people are currently quitting in droves because the bats suck............that makes sense

 

[baseballfrk806]

a wood bat shows the true hitters of the game - would love to see it go back to that or hell just go to clinchers...

Always amazing what a 125 pound dude with a fire stick can do... keep pounding your chest bro...

 

[Country469]

I hear these 120 lb calls all the time too and I haven't found a grown man under 150 yet

 

[etnstudios]

can we go to tennis balls please?

 

[baseballfrk806]

I hear these 120 lb calls all the time too and I haven't found a grown man under 150 yet

Hell 150pds and ripping a 350ft shot that's still impressive. Few people have that kinda bat speed at that weight.

 

[baseballfrk806]

oh and my rcf on my league team is 130pds but faster than gazelle... he hits 200 ft bombs.

 

[ilyk2win]

Enforce the batters box.

Enforce the strike zone.

Get rid of the classic m.

Remove the excessive speed rule from utrip. If you want to limit the speed of my pitch fix your Arc requirements.

You know, the usual.

^^^All of those.

I would suggest going to a mat.....either a good size mat......or a smaller mat and the plate as well. I generally hate that concept, but very few umpires call a true "zone" or give corners as a benefit of the doubt to the pitcher anyway. Now they'd merely have to determine pitch height.

Eliminate bats under XX oz.......IMO 28oz should be the lightest, but whatever your thoughts, there's should not be 24 and 25oz bats. With EVERY rule already benefitting the batters, we don't have to also help them increase their bat speed and control. You don't have to like it, but it would help the game a lot.

I'd get rid of the 52 ball as well as the Classic Ml. I like the concept of the 52, but the application of it could be improved IMO. People can deny that it's a "bouncy" ball, but my experience is that it's too bouncy. Technology 10 years ago with the 44/375 was a good combination aside from the altering of bats. Making them tamper-proof would have been a better solution than making the bats hotter and messing with the ball.

 

[Tictac020]

47 Cor 300 comp or something like that would be a nice ball....or 44/325....I like the mandatory mats behind the plate....it would be a strike regardless.

 

[Stump]

47 Cor 300 comp or something like that would be a nice ball....or 44/325....I like the mandatory mats behind the plate....it would be a strike regardless.

My issue with the mats are that umpires are then reliant on the ball hitting them mat, regardless of where it crosses the plate. I umpire, and one of our local coed leagues uses them, and I don't like them because I think it forces the pitcher to throw right down the middle. Takes any element of pitching out of the game.

 

[ilyk2win]

You know the mat would be at least as wide as the plate, and arguably slightly wider right? That's a lot more area than "right down the middle"

 

[jcmichaels42]

You know the mat would be at least as wide as the plate, and arguably slightly wider right? That's a lot more area than "right down the middle"

You would think, however I play in 3 leagues that use a mat and none of the mats are wider than the plate.

 

[lukeamdman]

I hear these 120 lb calls all the time too and I haven't found a grown man under 150 yet

I agree that bologna is said way too much on this board. In 10 years of softball I've only seen one guy under 150lb's, and he was maybe 5'3" and is MISSING A LEG for crying out loud. The smaller guys on our team aren't power hitting no matter what they're swinging.

 

[Hiltz]

My issue with the mats are that umpires are then reliant on the ball hitting them mat, regardless of where it crosses the plate. I umpire, and one of our local coed leagues uses them, and I don't like them because I think it forces the pitcher to throw right down the middle. Takes any element of pitching out of the game.

You know the mat would be at least as wide as the plate, and arguably slightly wider right? That's a lot more area than "right down the middle"

A 10-12' high pitch that catches the back edge of a mat would never be called a strike if the ump was calling a strike zone. And you may lose the outside curve that catches the corner and lands outside, but you gain the inside curve that misses the plate and catches the mat.

My biggest issue with using a mat is the fact that every batter has the same strike zone, regardless of height. The short guys struggle and the tall guys get to play t-ball.

 

[ilyk2win]

A 10-12' high pitch that catches the back edge of a mat would never be called a strike if the ump was calling a strike zone. And you may lose the outside curve that catches the corner and lands outside, but you gain the inside curve that misses the plate and catches the mat.

My biggest issue with using a mat is the fact that every batter has the same strike zone, regardless of height. The short guys struggle and the tall guys get to play t-ball.

Oh it's flawed for sure no doubt! But no more flawed than the current strike zone. As a P who moves the ball around, I rarely get the "outside curve that catches the corner and lands outside" (as you put it) called as a strike but then the same umpires will say the inside one "curved around the plate." 3-1 zone called differently than the 1-2 count zone. At least a mat would eliminate the apparent guessing in those circumstances. And when I say "guessing" I mean the umpire always giving the batter the benefit of the doubt outside of the 3-1 count "courtesy-strike" that occurs. It would also decrease the whining/arguing by the batters when they don't agree with a called strike as it would be more black and white.

I don't love it, but I like it more than always getting squeezed as a pitcher.

 

[Country469]

yeah its usually a trade off with the mat..... I can get one pitch I normally won't but vise versa on another. Big trade off. Just gotta know what you are doing either way.

 

[jbo911]

yeah its usually a trade off with the mat..... I can get one pitch I normally won't but vise versa on another. Big trade off. Just gotta know what you are doing either way.

It should be a trade off, but I never get the other pitch so it's really not for me. I used to be very against the mat, but as bad as umpires have gotten, i'd rather have it now.

It's not a true strike zone, but when do we ever get one? 99% of umps call it where it lands and 1% call it where it lands and adjust for the batters height. We might as well have a mat so there's no bitching about ks.

 

[Country469]

hell all I ask for is the zone to stay the same for 7 innings so I can figure out how to adapt to what I need to do

 

[jbo911]

^^^All of those.

I would suggest going to a mat.....either a good size mat......or a smaller mat and the plate as well. I generally hate that concept, but very few umpires call a true "zone" or give corners as a benefit of the doubt to the pitcher anyway. Now they'd merely have to determine pitch height.

Eliminate bats under XX oz.......IMO 28oz should be the lightest, but whatever your thoughts, there's should not be 24 and 25oz bats. With EVERY rule already benefitting the batters, we don't have to also help them increase their bat speed and control. You don't have to like it, but it would help the game a lot.

I'd get rid of the 52 ball as well as the Classic Ml. I like the concept of the 52, but the application of it could be improved IMO. People can deny that it's a "bouncy" ball, but my experience is that it's too bouncy. Technology 10 years ago with the 44/375 was a good combination aside from the altering of bats. Making them tamper-proof would have been a better solution than making the bats hotter and messing with the ball.

With a 44/375 and compression testing it would be a very good game most of the time. Make the compression number high enough that it's obvious when a bat exceeds it and there you go.

They'll probably never do that or make little guys swing a 28 so i'd be willing to try a 47/300 or something similar. I'm willing to try pretty much anything at this point.

 

[Hiltz]

It would also decrease the whining/arguing by the batters when they don't agree with a called strike as it would be more black and white.

We might as well have a mat so there's no bitching about ks.

We play with a mat/plate combo here and guys STILL ***** about balls and strikes. "That hit the ground first! That hit a rock, that's why it kicked sideways!" Like Jesus, if it's even close and you're not 3-0 or 3-1 you should be swinging away.

One thing I've always found with a mat is even though it may decrease bitching about the strike zone, you'll get more guys whining about arc height and quick pitching. It's in most softball players' DNA to bellyache about something.

 

[saintrules]

It's in most softball players' DNA to bellyache about something.

Pretty much sums up everything, ever.

 

[Theseaduck]

why mat and not a board ?
the seniors ( I'm not one by far) use it
makes a sound , is annoying but very simple......