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| July 30, 2017 SCRAPPY 44 posts | PITCHING SCREEN USE In Colorado we are discussing using a pitchers screen in our over 70 leagues Only. We will be discussing this at an open meeting and we are looking at input from those who have used them. I have listed some of the concerns that have been brought up. Please add your input or experience with using a screen. Placement of the screen. Size of screen. It eliminates double plays hit back to the pitcher as it is a dead ball infield fly rule: if ball comes down and hits screen a thrown ball that hits the screen by a third baseman or other infielders plays at the plate where ball coming in from outfield hits the screen double plays where ball goes to 2nd and then goes to home for the force from 3rd Please note this is for an over 70 league only. Mike Massong CSSA Board Member |
| July 30, 2017 Downs 60 posts | MIKE: your list of concerns are certainly not unique. They are common to all interests that wish to consider the use of a PSS (Pitcher Safety Screen). We up here in the N/W have been utilizing a PSS for more than 7 years and each year review the Rules Attachment "A" that governs the use to address any new or additional situations. A good example was the original maximum size which was 3-foot wide and 6-foot high. The problem is that the commercially made PSS is now made in various sizes including up to 8-ft by 8-ft. We address this as well as thrown or batted balls that hit the screen. To save time, if you are interested in receiving a copy of our Puget Sound Senior Softball Rules and Attachment "A" (PSS), send me your U.S. Post Office address and I'll mail you the information. We have received quite a number or such request over the years. We use the PSS for our 30-team league of 55 to 90 ages. It is designed as safety equipment and is optional use, not mandatory. Jim - Seattle. |
| July 30, 2017 SCRAPPY 44 posts | Thanks, Jim. If anyone has materials pertaining to a PSS please send to: Mike Massong 6011 S Quail Way Littleton, Co. 80127 |
| July 30, 2017 Downs 60 posts | MIKE: the information you requested in NOW in the U.S. Post Office mail box. You should have it no later than mid-week. If you need any further info or clarification, please feel free to contact me. My email and phone number is included in the packet. Good luck. Jim |
| July 30, 2017 TexasTransplant Men's 70 516 posts | We have used a pitching screen in our league in Richardson, TX for three or four years now. I won't say that the concerns you voiced are not valid, but I have not seen any of them happen. The screen just doesn't come into play that often with respect to defensive plays. We do allow the pitcher to come out from behind the screen to field a ball (at his own risk), but the screen is there for his protection; it's up to him to take advantage of it. The first year we used the screen, if you (as a batter) hit the screen it was an out. In subsequent years we have treated it as a foul ball. Personally, I like the foul ball treatment better. I think the screens we use are about 4'x7', but that's a guess. We don't have any pitchers whose head sticks up over the screen; not sure is we have any that stick out to the sides. |
| July 30, 2017 B.J. 1105 posts | scrappy...here is a rule I wrote up for one of our senior divisions that chooses to use the screen.... PITCHING SCREEN RULE. A. The screen will directly face home plate within one to three feet in front of the pitching rubber, if a pitcher chooses to use the full depth of the ten foot pitchers box then the screen must be positioned in the one to three foot limits of where he/she chooses to pitch. B. The screen may be positioned anywhere from the outer left side of the pitching rubber for a right handed pitcher to the outer right side of the pitching rubber for a left handed pitcher. C. The screen must be placed to the left of a right-handed pitcher, and to the right of a left-handed pitcher to maximize the pitcher’s safety. D. Any batted ball striking any portion of the screen as observed by the umpire will be declared a dead ball foul unless it is the third strike, in which case it is a dead ball re-pitch. All thrown balls are in play. E. Any pitch delivered with the screen not in a legal position will be declared “no pitch.” If a pitcher refuses to place the screen in the correct position, the umpire will notify the player’s manager and remove the pitcher from the pitching position. F. If a pitcher chooses to use a screen then they “MUST” step behind the screen after every pitch, failure to do so will be called a ball (umpire judgment). A pitcher is ineligible to field any hard driven ball that is hit up the middle. (umpire judgment) Penalty for doing so will be a dead ball single for the batter and all runners will advance one base if forced to do so. Pitcher will be allowed to field a slow rolling grounder with no penalty.(umpire judgment) G. The screen may not be knocked over or pushed to the side to allow a throw from the outfield. |
| July 30, 2017 Omar Khayyam 1357 posts | Hello Scrappy, Those are normal concerns for those encountering a screen or considering a screen. I have been pitching with a screen for 17 years! When I first began to pitch with it I wasn’t a fan since I was used to pitching without one for decades. I would laboriously carry the screen off the field to the side and then replace it for the next half inning. I didn’t like the distraction of the screen in the corner of my eye. But the league’s board of directors ruled that the screen couldn’t be moved (one other pitcher also relocated it). The screen was mandated because one pitcher took a near-fatal hit (in the chest, not the head) and the league wanted protection for all pitchers. We have a mixed age league and most of our pitchers are over 70; two are over 80. Being in California, I play about 100-120 games a year on all-weather turf with a screen. Here is my experience and why I am completely comfortable with the screen. Our screen has a wide area in which it can be placed. Since it is for protection, some pitchers put it 5 feet in front of the rubber, some put it about 6-8” beside the pitching box. Anywhere is O.K. (and some pitchers put it 3/4 of the way across the rubber and just peek around it to pitch). We use the standard size which is 6 1/2 feet high by 3 feet wide. We don’t eliminate any double plays because of the screen. The screen is there for the pitcher’s protection, but he is free to reach out for a line drive, run forward to field a slow grounder, run around it to catch a pop-up, etc. It is his choice where to defend from. In 17 years I have never seen an infield fly hit the screen (almost 14,000 innings!). A batted ball hitting the screen is a dead ball. I prefer the rule where it is a foul ball except on the third strike where it is not an out. An entire year can go by without once having a throw from third to first hitting the screen. A throw from second to home has never hit the screen. It is the most likely to happen, I suppose. A throw from the outfield home hits the screen perhaps once or twice a year. The screen has never been knocked over by a batted ball. Most injuries to the pitcher are those where he is standing behind the screen as a fielder and sometimes the ball ricochets off the frame of the screen. In summary, one quickly gets used to the screen and it has saved many a pitcher against a power hitter or a guy who likes to go middle. One disadvantage for pitchers who are also tournament players is that the pitcher’s fielding skills begin to decline a bit with using the screen and stabbing at balls going by instead of moving in front of the ball. Good luck with the screens. I predict they will eventually be mandated for tournament play in our world with lively balls and composite bats. |
| July 30, 2017 k man Men's 65 326 posts | One rule in our senior league for your consideration- non batted balls that hit the pitching screen are in play unless they become entangled in the pitching screen/base of the screen. In our league it is considered a blocked ball and runners are awarded 1 base from the position the where the runner was when it became entangled in the screen. Haven't seen it happen yet but hey, ya never know. |
| Aug. 1, 2017 Jethro Men's 60 60 posts | Florida Half Century has a video out and other info.. |
| Aug. 2, 2017 surf88 Men's 65 1000 posts | Mike, we use a screen in our Florida league play. I have been playing with one on the fields for 2 seasons now. It is a normal 3'X 6.5' screen with wheels so it can be easily moved depending upon whether the pitcher is left or right handed. It is mandatory. The ruling we use, is first batted ball to hit the screen is a dead ball. Second batted ball to hit the screen is a strike. Third batted ball from same batter is an out. I play outfield and infield and frankly I have not seen a problem as a result of using the screen but from the standpoint of safety, I have seen the screen save significant injury from the standpoint of high performance bats, high compression balls and tapering reaction time by players. The pitchers in our leagues may field the hits at their sole discretion without penalty. Hope you are well old friend. Ed A |
