NFHS Backstop Distance

[GIMNEPIWO]

Okay, I'm brain farting ... The HS I coached at last year made mention that they had to move home plate & the field away from the backstop because of new regulations regarding distance ... ( I paid little attention since the staff I was joining couldn't tell their arse from their elbow ... The HS I am at this year said the same thing ... I knew nothing about this ... Is this a coruption of the rules where the Catchers Box needs to be marked or WTF am I missing ?

[Comp]

2012 rule book diagram shows a distance of 25' from the tip of home plate to the backstop. I am not aware of any rules that have changed with regard to that distance.

[Crabby_Bob]

NFHS 1.3 Recommended field distances are designated as follows:
c. Outside (foul ground) the foul lines and between home plate and the backstop - an unobstructed area with a distance of 25 feet to 30 feet.

25 feet is a recommendation.

[GIMNEPIWO]

Yeah, I know the regs & recommendations ... But I knew of no change in recent years ... Unless both schools coincidentally realized they were not within the recommended dimensions ...

[MTR]

Yeah, I know the regs & recommendations ... But I knew of no change in recent years ... Unless both schools coincidentally realized they were not within the recommended dimensions ...

Or the state HS association set a standard or provided recommendations for them.

[Fredegar]

I seriously doubt any of those HS recommendations are mandatory. HS's have different budgets and some have limited field space so it may be impractical to conform to every recommendation. Other than 60' bases and the (currently) 43' pitching distance, which are mandatory, most everything else can only be recommended. Some HS fields are at City Parks, where the HS has little control over the dimensions. Some fields have 300' baseball fences, while some have no fences.

The point is that depending on where you live, it's likely that nobody "had to move home plate & the field away from the backstop". Having said that, since it is recommended and there was budget for it, someone obviously thought it was a good thing to do.

[MTR]

I seriously doubt any of those HS recommendations are mandatory.

No NFHS rule is mandatory. NFHS recognizeS the members' rights to make decisions in using their rules independently.

[AlwaysImprove]

I seriously doubt any of those HS recommendations are mandatory.

No NFHS rule is mandatory. NFHS recognizeS the members' rights to make decisions in using their rules independently.

Wait. So you are saying they are mandatory, but people don't have to follow them?

[MTR]

I seriously doubt any of those HS recommendations are mandatory.

No NFHS rule is mandatory. NFHS recognizeS the members' rights to make decisions in using their rules independently.

Wait. So you are saying they are mandatory, but people don't have to follow them?

How do you get "So you are saying they are mandatory" from "No NFHS rule is mandatory" ?

There is no news here. Eash state association can use all, part or none of the NFHS rules as they determine.

[GIMNEPIWO]

Hmmmm ? In school # 2's case ... They moved the dish further from the backstop but could not move the HR fence further away from home plate because of a historic oak tree ...