Should softball pitchers be moved back 3 feet?

[UNCTarheels]

Should softball pitchers be moved back 3 feet? (http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070510/SPORTS/705100327/-1/SPORTS04)-Times Herald-Record

Softball pitchers dominate because of proximity

[Jammer24]

I'm sure those teams with the good pitcher would want to keep the mound right where it is. Also, you're going to get people that say, "teach the hitters to hit". However, we all know that when it gets down to sectional time it all comes down to the pitchers. I would like to see the game decided a little bit more on who has the best TEAM, not who has the best pitcher.There is too much of an advantage of having a good pitcher. Having said that, it would be tough to watch some teams struggle, as they already do, with the mound moved back further. Tough call.

[hilly]

i like the idea of moving it back. sometimes softball can basically be a game of pitch and catch.
you can't teach a hitter to hit a 60mph fastball from the current distance

[UNCTarheels]

Score one for the 43-foot movement. The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association recently approved moving the softball pitcher's mound from 40 back to 43 feet. The change goes into effect next season

[UNCTarheels]

This weekend's State Tournament results would support this idea. In the 15 semi and final games played, the losing team didn't score a run in
11 of them. They scored 1 run in three games and 2 runs in the other game. On the winning side, in 9 of the games, the winning team scored 2 runs or less, with 5 winning their game 1-0.

[UNCTarheels]

I'm certainly not getting involved in it personally as I'm not that big of a softball guy, with something like this "Word" travels fast...........

[UNCTarheels]

Here's part of Sports Writer Chris Metcalfs Column from this weeks LCN

Move Back The Rubber.

Last YearI wrote a Column on why the girls' Softball rubber needs to be pushed back from its current 40-foot location.
Basically it read that pitchers today are just too dominating at 40-feet.
once again, this year was no exception.
Here's another example why it should go back at least three more feet.
In the 15 games played during last week's state semifinals and finals, the losing teams in 11 of 15 games didn't score a single run, while three teams scored just one run, and one team scored two runs.
In nine of those 15 games, the winner scored no more than two runs, with five teams scoring one run to win the game.
In fact, in the state title games of all five Classifications, the losing team was shutout in each occasion. How boring were the title games--A combined seven runs were scored by the winning teams while the losing teams were blanked. In class A, South Glens Falls defeated East Hampton by a 1-0 score in 10 innings-that must've been a thriller to watch.
The two highest scoring games came in Class B and Class D where the winning teams won by whopping 2-0 scores.
Where's the excitement in all of this?
State officials need to move the softball rubber back to 43-feet, and they need to do it now, because 1-0 10-inning games won't do wonders for participation in the upcoming future.

The game has become way too boring-and something needs to be done-Now!

[UNCTarheels]

the LCN doesn't have a website, I just started getting the LCN this past High School Football season so I didn't get a chance to read last years article.

[Softball Dad]

My daughter is a pitcher and I still don't know which I would prefer.
She is more of a control pitcher instead of a strike out pitcher. So it might make her a better pitcher than the 40' compared to the girls who just blow fastballs past everyone.

But on the other hand we could end up having way to many games cut short due to the mercy rule. There is so few pitchers who are that dominating, but of course their teams make it deeper in to the playoffs.

I don't think it will help most teams just make more blow outs.

The good pitchers will still be the best ones. But you will find out more what teams are living on the pitcher and not a well rounded team.