Should Softball Pitchers Be Allowed to Crow Hop?
Illegal pitches took the softball world by storm this past college season. The topic of illegal pitches, what they are, why they are called and why they aren’t called was a huge message board hot topic throughout the college season leading up to the World Series. Once the summer season rolled around, illegal pitches were brought to attention again at the travel and club ball levels. This hot topic is going to consume pitchers, umpires, teams, and spectator’s attention until the written rule is followed or removed completely.
Let’s shift focus for a minute to men’s fastpitch softball, which is indeed a sport for those not familiar, and a competitive one to say the least. Men softball pitchers are allowed to crow hop and re-plant while delivering their pitch. The only real rule that men’s pitchers have to follow is the windmill motion. Everything else is fair game and men pitchers do whatever it takes to get their body momentum going forward.
Men fastpitch pitchers throw significantly harder than female pitchers. Obviously grown men are stronger than college softball and even female Pro pitchers because they are bigger, but men also have a huge pitching advantage over females because they don’t have written rules to follow. Should female pitchers be granted this same courtesy? People will argue that men pitchers are allowed to cheat because their pitching distance is 46 ft. and it’s dangerous even being that close to the hot bats that the men fastpitch hitters swing. The same argument could be made for female pitchers who are playing in college and in the Pro league, who throw from 43 ft. against the best hitters in the country.
How much would crow hopping and replanting benefit a female softball pitcher? If both were used correctly, a pitcher would be able to drive out further, and as a result would get them closer to the catcher. This would allow pitchers to cut the pitching distance down and the pitcher would be starting her pitch from about 34-38 ft. depending on the push, rather than from the full 43 feet. Any time a pitcher can use her legs to drive out and cut down distance will give her a huge advantage. Imagine facing a college or Professional pitcher who throws high 60’s and begins her pitch from 35 ft. away. This wouldn’t give the hitters much of a reaction time to the ball once it is released.
With the advancements in bat technologies today, this rule change should definitely be considered. Illegal pitches in today’s softball games take away from the entire game because they are called sporadically and inconsistently depending on the umpire. Removing the rule completely would be more beneficial than having a wishy washy rule that only half of the umpires and teams across the country pay attention to.
If female softball pitchers are given free reigns on the mound, pitching could easily become more dominant in the sport again. So to revisit the article question, should softball pitchers be allowed to crow hop? Yes, but every single pitcher needs to have that opportunity and the illegal pitch rule for crow hopping and re-planting would need to be thrown out. It’s unfair that some pitchers are allowed to get away with it now while others are not. In order for softball to continue to move forward, everyone should be held to the same standard. Either ditch the rule completely or follow the rule and crack down on illegal pitches every single time they are thrown. It would probably be easier to just remove the rule than to expect every umpire to be able to make the call each and every time it happens, which for some pitchers is every pitch.
