Thursday, April 7 , 2005

School Rules

by Tim Stevens
WIAA Director of Baseball

Gorilla Arms and Rubber Bracelets

Now that we are a week or so into the season a few questions have begun to drift their way into my email inbox. This is a good time to address a couple of those items as we near the beginning of league play.

Q: What is the "Gorilla Arm" position and how are we supposed to call that?

A: The high school book has had, for a number of years, a rule that has required that pitchers to have their pitching hand at their side or behind their back while in the set position.  Because pitchers have not been allowed to turn their shoulders from the set prior to this year that requirement has been largely ignored because pitchers were not able to gain and advantage by having the pitching arm in front of the body. This year, however, the pitcher has the opportunity to turn shoulders prior to coming set. If the pitcher is allowed to have the pitching arm hanging in front of the body he does now gain an advantage in that the runner does not have the opportunity to know which hand the ball is in (for the right-hander, at least, and we know that there cannot be rules established that are different between left- and right-handers).  

For the next couple of weeks (i.e. through the middle of April) preventive officiating is highly encouraged, whether that's in the form of casually talking to the pitcher between pitches (while on the bases), sending the catcher out to talk to the pitcher (while on the plate) or mentioning to the head coach between innings. After the first attempt at correction, balk any subsequent violations. Once we get well into league play (end of April on) this should be called regularly.

The "incidental" slip into that stance should not be penalized. For instance, if a pitcher addresses the rubber with the arm in front of the body momentarily and then straightens into a proper stance to take the sign he has, for the purposes of this rule, met the stance requirement. Unlike most balk situations this is not a penalty if incidental - our intention is to disallow the pitcher from hiding the ball during the primary portion of the stance.

It may sound a little confusing, but it all comes down to using your judgment. If the pitcher is not giving the base runner a good look at the ball, he is gaining an advantage and it should be balked. The most important aspect is this: COACHES ARE EXPECTING IT TO BE CALLED.   They have been told it's being called, and I'm proud to say that I am hearing that it has been called regularly in NBUA officiated contests. For those rare circumstances when a coach may complain about it being "ticky-tack" simply remind the coach this is a small trade-off for getting the shoulder turn back and to make the appropriate correction.

Q: What should we do about the Lance Armstrong "LiveStrong" bracelets and their related knock-offs?

A: The National Federation has determined that any type of decorative band around the wrist is jewelry and cannot be worn during scholastic baseball games. This includes rubber bands, friendship bracelets, homespun braided fibers, or other similar items (I've even had a report of human hair being spun into a bracelet...good grief!). The exceptions are for Medic Alert and medallions of religious expression.

The proper procedure for handling these issues is to calmly indicate that the items need to be removed immediately prior to play (or, even better, prior to the game if noticed during pre-game). After the coach confirms that the team is legally and properly equipped we know that any player identified wearing jewelry is to generate a team warning; however, in the case of unusual items that may not be considered traditional "jewelry" a subtle indication that the item must be removed can be issued without invoking 3-3-1c. If the player or coach indicates that the item is a medic alert or religious exception remember that the item must be functional rather than decorative. As such it must be visible at all times and must be secured in a manner that is not hazardous to either the player or the opponent.

If you have any items that you have a question on or would like to see addressed, contact Tim Stevens at tstevens@wiaa.com.