Mass. and Fla. @ 43' in High School

I dont see how you could like softball with all the changes that you said you would like to see, alot of us out here dont want to turn softball into baseball just with a larger ball. go and watch baseball and think of some changes you could make with that but leave softball except for the 43' pitching rubber alone!!

 

All the changes?? There have been two proposed...the 43' pitching distance and backing up the bases by 10'. You've even agreed on the 43'. The rest of my posts have been reasons for the changes, not additional changes. I haven't heard alot of sound rebuttals to those arguments, just "go back to baseball" and "I like it the way it is". Like I said before, I'm happy with the 43' pitching distance, but it makes me concerned for the 3B and 1B positions. Move the bases back (OK, I'll settle for 5') and we might solve that problem.

 

Changes?? So far the pitcher gets all the glory need to move her back to 43'-45' the game is too quick, the fielders dont get enough action, no one can hit, move the bases back to 70' the game is boreing to everybody but the pitcher, this is not slowpitch, fastpitch is a quick and fast paced game. Our last tournament had great defense behind a good pitcher everybody got praise fielders and pitching and all this in a 0-0 game thru 6 The last thing I will say is SOFTBALL IS A GREAT GAME AND THE GIRLS MADE IT THAT WAY WITH HARD WORK AND DEDICATION, it's not for you or me to try and change their game. I want to thank all the girls for makeing softball one great game to watch and thanks to all the coaches for their hard work and time.

 

AMEN

AMEN BROTHER IF it ain't broke,don't fix it.

 

20

I see 20 K's in a 3rd round playoff game.
Yes, move back to 43' and give the batters a chance!

 

if i were to see this quality pitcher(s) in another sport......they're a first rounders in the upcoming major league draft. good hitters can and do hit these type of pitchers especially during the HS season. 43' is coming.....kids (hs schoolers) working in that direction daily. challenging them at 40' now is to our advantage......proper techniques and plenty of work! jmo

 

Yep 20 K's. But the extra three feet won't help batters facing that particular pitcher. The extra distance will only allow more radical movement on her breaking balls.

But the extra three feet would have allowed the opposing pitcher time to get her hand out of the way of that line drive.

 

Explain

Would teams still not bunt and slap even if U move the bases back another 10 feet, right? Your corners still would have to play up to cover that part of game.
If U want to make the game safer, go back to less lively bats, possibly wood, change the ball, or something of that sort. However with no offense for the most part, tell me how do we create more offense?
It seems in todays world things that have worked for years and enjoyed for years are suddenly bad. Not just softball but many sports as well as business, and other matters. I guess I am just stuck in my ways! Can't see all the advantages of change, need more education by liberal americans. ha ha!

 

progress

don't be against change in sports, just think............3 point baskets and dunking in basketball, overtime system in college football, moving football goal posts from the goal-line to endline, major league baseball lowered the mound when pitchers dominated, HS's went from slow-pitch to fastpitch, baseball and softball went from wood to metal bats, on and on...................it must evolve, anything that resists change stays the same and doesn't grow

 

Thanks for others weighing in on this issue...Honestly, I'm not sure about the extra bunting/slapping with the bases moved back. You don't see much of that in baseball, so maybe the speed of the throws from 3B over-compensates for the extra 10' to run, and therefore it makes it more difficult to do. Sounds like a math/science problem for you high schoolers. But you are right, you would have to bring the corners in for the speedsters....Getting the pitching distance back will help with the offense (18K's, 20K's ? - that leaves 1-3 outs made some other way than strikeout), and I may be the only one out there who believes this, but I think the larger infield would also. And no, I'm not even close to a liberal. But I do pay attention to what others say about the game, even those who have watched it and don't like it. Even the announcers on ESPN this weekend called it a "pitcher-dominant" game. Maybe that's OK with the softball crowd. I just happen to believe we could make it better. LDFRDGUY would like me to shut up about it, but I'm just trying to open up conversation, and that's what makes TBR what it is. I'm willing to be wrong about it.