I think all you have to do is disallow the back foot leaving the rubber and touching the ground again prior to the front foot landing (like TriPolar notes). The back foot rising off the ground is unavoidable and just part of pitching. It’s the back foot touching the ground again before the front foot that is exceptional.
Walden doesn’t seem to violate this proposed rule, but Capps pretty clearly does. Although his comments about what the league wants him to do (drag his foot, not get too high off the ground) seem to back up my interpretation about what they want it to look like.
ETA: Now I looked at some more slo-mos of Walden (like the one here: https://gfycat.com/SilkyCrazyGemsbok) and I think he violates it too. I wonder if any other relievers do as well.
I am dumbfounded that this delivery can pass muster from the umpires at any level of baseball. He’s clearly violating both the letter and spirit of the rule - after his slide/hop his pivot foot lands on the ground well ahead of the rubber before he delivers the pitch. He’s essentially moving himself a couple of feet forward from the rubber, as if he’s playing in a 13U league or something.
Walden’s hop isn’t quite so pronounced, and he’s delivering the pitch a bit earlier in his motion than Capps. Capps hops, then is firmly back on the mound (just with his pivot foot 58 feet away from the plate) before he lets the ball fly.
I can’t believe they’re letting him get away with this. I can’t believe he’s gotten this far in organized baseball without getting this called an illegal pitch every single time.
I don’t know how it is even debatable that this is not an illegal pitch. As Jeff Lichtman notes the exception for a “natural” delivery of a pitcher applies to calling a balk because of a pause or feint towards the plate, not the rule which requires contact with the pitching rubber.
You’re correct. The foot has to stay on the rubber until the front foot is fully planted for the pitch, but after the the foot leaves the rubber the pitcher is not allowed to move the front foot. Capps is telling this and nearly every other reasonable interpretation of the rules to get stuffed.
If this pitching motion is legal which one’s aren’t? How many jumps forward can you take before planting your forward foot? Do you have to stay between the mound and home plate?
Now hopping around the infield for a while before releasing the pitch might make the game a little more interesting but it’s still difficult to see how this allowed in the first place.
Peter Gammons tweeted on April 17 that MLB has clarified to the clubs that the Capps delivery is illegal and won’t be permitted from now on.
If true, it will be interesting to see if Capps can adjust. Capps, incidentally, had already been demoted to AAA. He’s only 24, though, and has legit talent.
Well, it’s still an illegal pitch, and an automatic ball.
When Capps returned to AAA, MLB had issued the ruling; apparently when he first started pitching he was still doing his hop thing and the umps called the first two pitches illegal and automatic balls. Rather than asking him to change the way he was pitching, he was told to just intentionally walk the batter and was removed from the game. Apparently he’s working on making his delivery legal.
I’m telling you, his coaches have failed him. I hope he can figure out to pitch correctly, but I have been just baffled as to how the hell a guy gets to MLB with this. Umps will be watching him like a hawk now, and rightfully so.
MLB has failed him too. He’s been pitching since 2012 (105 innings) with the blessings of the league.
They should at least allow him a season without penalty to change.
