60 feet, 6 inches. Yeah, right.
Bigger bases means more than stolen bases. Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Some baseball distances can be different from those of normal human beings. If you are sitting across the table from someone, you would judge the distance between you as the distance between your faces. But using baseball logic, it would be the distance between your face and the back of the other person's head. The two baseball examples:
1. 60 feet, 6 inches from the pitcher's rubber to home plate. It's actually that minus the 17 inches from the front of home plate to the back.
https://content.mlb.com/documents/2/2/4/305750224/2019_Official_Baseball_Rules_FINAL_.pdf
2.04 The Pitcher’s Plate
... the distance between the pitcher’s plate
and home base (the rear point of home plate) shall be 60 feet, 6 inches
Click link for MLB diagram 2.
____________________
2023 rule change:
https://www.mlb.com/glossary/rules/defensive-shift-limits
The four infielders must be within the boundary of the infield when the pitcher is on the rubber.
___________________
Aside from the general stupidity of banning the shift, "on the rubber" rather than when the pitch is released or hit, might give an infielder time to back up a step or two onto the outfield grass. I know I'd try it. There's time when the pitcher is off the rubber but before he releases the ball as he hurtles himself down the ridiculous and unnecessary hill adding inches to his fastball by simply getting closer to the plate.
David Robertson isn't that tall (5'11") but has a long stride.
In football the passer may not step across the line of scrimmage to throw a forward pass. That's how it should be for the pitcher. Randy Johnson (6'10")
probably released the ball at least a foot closer to home plate than Whitey Ford (5'10")
because he was a foot taller than Ford. Both are in the Hall of Fame. How is that fair to other pitchers or to the batters? The pitching distance should be a release point not a launch point.
And that release point should be in the middle of the diamond where most casual fans think it is anyway: a little more than 63 feet from the back of home plate. No, I don't think that would impact throwing strikes. Just aim it down the middle like when you play catch, which is really what you're doing. 90% of baseball is two guys playing catch.
Maybe getting pitchers down to ground level will deflate their egos, which enable them to deliberately throw at batters with virtual impunity, the most egregious and unbalanced act among the three American team sports: baseball, football, basketball. The batter's only recourse is to charge the mound, for which the batter will be suspended. Or the batter's pitcher teammate retaliates: an eye for an eye. Maybe literally.
Geez, come on.
Bring back the pitcher's box. And get rid of the stupid mound. Thursday, March 20, 2014
Pitching distance and height addressed in posts a year ago. Saturday, April 16, 2022
No comments:
Post a Comment