And this is why I wear a mask when I pitch softball

[baldgriff]

Watch wear that ball lands

[bryanbutler]

i used to abhor pitching, for that reason. never thought of wearing a mask, but a cup, sure...

[DJBeasties]

That dude is tough. i would have been crumpled on the ground crying for my mom I bet. Forget that.

[senorsheep]

Hmmm. He might have a better shot of making that play or getting out of the way if he'd concentrate on setting himself defensively after the pitch, vs. doing all that silly "dancing off the mound as a distraction" stuff.

[virgonomic]

Hell, I've thought about wearing a mask as a slo-pitch umpire!

With the sound that ball made, I can't believe the guy got up. One of these on the mound and I'd be behind a mask the next game.

Also, as an umpire instructor/evaluator, that umpire needs to separate his signal and verbal strike call, and NEVER cross in front of a runner scoring.

[Lurker765]

Hmmm. He might have a better shot of making that play or getting out of the way if he'd concentrate on setting himself defensively after the pitch, vs. doing all that silly "dancing off the mound as a distraction" stuff.

That's not a distraction. That is their defensive alignment. They are running 5 man infield and you can see their middle fielder switching sides as the pitcher does based on the direction the catcher points. They are trying to cover as much area as possible defensively on the chance that the batter hits a grounder. The big boys usually run 5 man infields and the pitcher's job is to back/side pedal to get farther away from the batter and off to one side or the other. You don't want to be in line with the rubber pitching mound since if the ball hits near that area you can get a wicked hop.

The pitcher wasn't doing anything crazy like some USSSA pitchers are notorious for IMHO.

[baldgriff]

Wow - I see that there are some umps and players here.

The 5 man infield is the only way to go - we are a D/E team depending on association and we run a 5 man. Its just a matter of communication and they were a bit crossed up on that one as the SS was actually in behind the pitcher. He got to far to the side. I found it interesting that the runner on 2nd base clearly knew that once the ball was touched he could go, because he clearly left after the pitcher got hit.


Ive been wearing a mask for the last 5 years when pitching. I umpired for about 20 years and Ive seen to many pitchers get drilled to not wear one.

As far as umpire mechanics - agreed that the ump should cross in front of a runner scoring - that does tell you how slowly he got out there though. The runner scoring was from 2nd.

[Lurker765]

I found it interesting that the runner on 2nd base clearly knew that once the ball was touched he could go, because he clearly left after the pitcher got hit.

The runner got lucky. That ball almost got caught on the fly by the second baseman for an unlikely double play. You don't often see a F-1-4 twin killing.

[baldgriff]

The play would have had to have been at third as the runner left after the first touch. I dont think they would have had enough time to get him at 3rd.

[Lurker765]

The play would have had to have been at third as the runner left after the first touch. I dont think they would have had enough time to get him at 3rd.

I just looked again. You are correct. My first impression when I watched it was that the runner left the base when the pitch crossed the plate rather than when it hit the pitcher. I thought he never tagged up and just took off, but it turns out he never left the base until after first contact.

[senorsheep]

That's not a distraction. That is their defensive alignment. They are running 5 man infield and you can see their middle fielder switching sides as the pitcher does based on the direction the catcher points. They are trying to cover as much area as possible defensively on the chance that the batter hits a grounder. The big boys usually run 5 man infields and the pitcher's job is to back/side pedal to get farther away from the batter and off to one side or the other. You don't want to be in line with the rubber pitching mound since if the ball hits near that area you can get a wicked hop.

The pitcher wasn't doing anything crazy like some USSSA pitchers are notorious for IMHO.

Ah, I didn't realize this was one of those fancy leagues with shifting defensive alignments. From the instant I release a pitch, I'm in self-preservation mode - I'm more interested in not getting killed than marginally increasing my chances of making a play on a ball.

[Lurker765]

Ah, I didn't realize this was one of those fancy leagues with shifting defensive alignments. From the instant I release a pitch, I'm in self-preservation mode - I'm more interested in not getting killed than marginally increasing my chances of making a play on a ball.

That was part of the reason 5 man infields starting happening. In softball once the home runs are used up the easiest place to get a hit is right up the middle. The pitcher has very little time to react and the 2B and SS are usually not positioned to make a play on a ball hit up the middle. And the 4 outfielders leave a gap up the middle with their usual right center and left center placements.

Thus, pitchers were in danger once the home runs were used up in a game. When 5 man happened the middle fielder gives the hitters less reason to hit up the middle and the center fielder is also positioned in a spot that encourages a batter to hit it into the right/left center gap rather than over/at the pitcher.

Rec league ball isn't as big of a deal because home runs aren't used up quite as fast, hitters have more difficulty placing the ball, etc. You don't see 5 man as much for those reasons and also that the outfielders often can't cover the required ground and balls landing in the outfield result in more extra bases compared to grounders. In the A-C ball levels the outfielders have to play extremely deep and be very fast.

Pitching at high level softball is dangerous. The ball often gets hit so hard there is literally no time for a human being to react and move his glove to catch a ball. You ARE going to hit during a season and you hope it isn't somewhere that will cause major damage. Lower softball usually doesn't have the people who can hit the ball quite this hard and regular baseball doesn't have people that can place the ball at a given target on a field as easily.

[baldgriff]

Pitching at high level softball is dangerous. The ball often gets hit so hard there is literally no time for a human being to react and move his glove to catch a ball. You ARE going to hit during a season and you hope it isn't somewhere that will cause major damage. Lower softball usually doesn't have the people who can hit the ball quite this hard and regular baseball doesn't have people that can place the ball at a given target on a field as easily.

I would caveat that by saying pitching at any level in softball is dangerous. Im playing D ball in MN and I have seen many a pitcher get lit up and there are any number of guys that can absolutely hit lazers...... Tournament weekends its helmet and shins. League - just helmet.

[Lurker765]

I would caveat that by saying pitching at any level in softball is dangerous. Im playing D ball in MN and I have seen many a pitcher get lit up and there are any number of guys that can absolutely hit lazers...... Tournament weekends its helmet and shins. League - just helmet.

yeah, I agree. I do think there is a difference between hard hitters and the big boys though. The Resmondo, Easton, etc teams have people that can hit a softball 400+ feet and if you see one of their tournaments it is unbelievable that people volunteer to pitch.

League or many lower tournaments have players that can no doubt jack the ball, but not to that level. Having just a fraction of a second more to move your glove can mean quite a bit.

It's funny, I have a GameFace mask that I have worn when pitching practice since my concentration drifts more when I do that compared to a game. But I always, ALWAYS wear my soccer shin guards. They are so easy to wear and I don't notice them when pitching and since I always have my glove up near my face I can't react to shin burners hit at me.

I still don't wear a mask in games. It is just too distracting despite being lightweight clear plastic. I tried wearing a mouthguard but it is too difficult to make cut calls or communicate with even that. So, when I pitch I just rely on luck not getting me hit like the guy in the video. Hopefully that doesn't happen to me since I took a one hopper off my chin at third once that the outfielder caught in the air after it hit me. That was no fun and this video looks like even less fun.

I don't have fear of a bad hop or the softball, but I have a lot of respect for it. A ball travelling at that velocity is not soft if it hits you and is worthy of your respect no matter what level of competition you are playing.