NCAA Baseball Rules Committee Addresses Pace of Play

DENVER—The NCAA Baseball Rules Committee reviewed its rules and decided to emphasize pace of play at its July 10-12 meeting. The committee’s actions must be considered by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel before final implementation.

The committee’s main point of emphasis – the pace of play – includes several rules and umpiring mechanics the group believes can be enforced more consistently. In particular, the batter’s box rule (the batter must generally keep one foot in the box during an at-bat), handling of conferences (defensive and offensive) and speeding the time between inning and during pitching changes were areas the committee identified as areas in need of improvement.

“There are times where the game should be moved along more quickly,” said Gary Vaught, head coach at the University of Indianapolis and chair of the committee. “We are asking umpires and coaches to do their part to keep our games moving. The better enforcement of several rules will assist in this effort.”

The committee approved an additional point of emphasis regarding pitching. In the set position (Rule 9-1-b), there seems to be a relaxing of some requirements the pitcher must follow. In particular, the committee is concerned that pitchers are deceiving runners by holding the ball in the pitching hand in front of the body and not at the hip or behind the body, as noted in this rule.

“The committee is not looking for more balk calls with this emphasis,” Vaught said. “The penalty is initially a warning. We hope this can be cleared up with coaches and umpires working in unison to correct this issue.”

During its meeting, the committee reviewed its rules thoroughly and made several minor adjustments. The group reviewed last year’s changes and noted the encouraging results particularly in the area of the force-play-slide rule. In general, the rules of the game are meeting the needs of the baseball community adequately.

“The adjustments made in recent years have had a positive effect on the game,” Vaught said. “The slide rule change kept the safety of the players at its core but made it easier for umpires to call and for coaches to teach. The game is in great shape.”

The committee did make several alterations in its rules:

• Rule 1-14-f, Jackets. The committee voted to allow a jacket, which includes the team’s official logo, in the coaching boxes if it is consistent with the team’s uniform color and apparel. If both coaches opt to wear a jacket, the jackets must be uniform.
• Rule 2, Ejections. The committee adjusted the penalty for pitchers that receive a post-game ejection. Because of the nature of the pitching position, this penalty will carry a four-game suspension. This is only for post-game ejections.
• Rule 4-1-a, Bat and Helmet Checks. The committee decided to take this duty out of the hands of the umpires. Coaches will be asked to certify that all bats and helmets are legal during the pre-game meeting.

• Rule 4-4-a, Pre-game Meeting. The head coach, during the first game of a weekend series or any non-conference game, must attend the pre-game plate conference.
• Rule 8-2-d, Hit By Pitch. The committee did not alter any wording in this section, with the exception of removing some conflicting wording in an approved ruling. However, the committee is emphasizing that the batter must make an attempt to avoid the pitch to be awarded first base.  

A complete listing of rules changes will be distributed to member institutions and posted on the NCAA Website for comment before the oversight panel considers the proposals.

In other committee news, Tim Corbin, head coach at Vanderbilt University, was selected to be the next chair of the committee. This appointment must be approved through the NCAA committee structure.

Finally, as part of the NCAA’s two-year cycle for rules, the next rules book will be in effect for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. The committee will meet next summer, but the focus will be more to long-term issues and education efforts for coaches and umpires.