Joint tape.

[Guest TH3]

Pitcher against my daughter tonight was wearing bright red/pink kinesiology tape from inner armpit to wrist- incredibly distracting. I understand the need for the tape but is she required to wear a less distracting color? Where is the rule o this. I know that they can’t wear shiny jewelry etc- is this under the same rule. Black tape would do the job and be way less distracting....

[Senor Azul]

Since you mentioned your daughter (and did not mention level of play) I am guessing that you are asking about fast pitch softball. Here are the current high school fast pitch softball rules I think would apply--

2020 NFHS FP softball rule 3-2 ART. 9 . . . A pitcher shall not wear any item on the pitching hand, wrist, arm or thighs which may, in the umpire's judgment, be distracting to the batter.

PENALTY: (Arts. 1 through 10) Illegal equipment shall be removed. If the uniform violation can be corrected in a reasonable amount of time (as determined by the umpire), the violation shall be remedied before the player(s) may participate. If the violation cannot be corrected, the player(s) may participate and the umpire shall notify the head coach of the infraction upon discovery and refer the infraction to the state association.

2020 NFHS softball rule 6-2 ART. 2 . . . The pitcher shall not at any time during the game be allowed to use tape or other substance on the ball or contact points of the pitching hand or fingers; nor shall any other player apply a foreign substance to the ball. A pitcher who licks her fingers shall wipe them off before bringing them in contact with the ball. Under the supervision and control of the umpire, powdered resin or any comparable drying agent may be used to dry the hand. The pitcher shall not wear any item on the pitching hand, wrist, arm or thighs which the umpire judges to be distracting to the batter.

PENALTY: (Art. 2) An illegal pitch shall be called immediately. See 6-1-1 Penalty.

[beerguy55]

Keep in mind, what is or isn't distracting is entirely the umpire's judgment...as opposed to the batter's excuse, which I see more often than not.  As a long-time coach of club level fastpitch across multiple rule sets in both Canada and the US, red/pink kinese tape would RARELY be deemed as distracting, unless it had glitter or was otherwise reflective in some way.   The colour itself is very rarely a factor in what is "distracting".  Otherwise, you'd have to start banning certain uniform colours (like neon pink) as distracting - it just isn't done.

It typically only comes into play when it is "disguising".

Yellow/green tape would be banned because it's the same colour as the ball.   That also extends to long sleeves and/or compression sleeves.

[Guest TH3]

Senor and beerguy55 thanks so much! That’s helps. Yes -fast pitch and it’s a 12u league. So one ump may agree that pink kinesiology tape on both  arms of the pitcher that extend to the wrist is distracting and one may not. So if it is distracting all we can do is bring it up in game and see what happens! Happy ballin!! 🥎 

[noumpere]

3 hours ago, Guest TH3 said:

Senor and beerguy55 thanks so much! That’s helps. Yes -fast pitch and it’s a 12u league. So one ump may agree that pink kinesiology tape on both  arms of the pitcher that extend to the wrist is distracting and one may not. So if it is distracting all we can do is bring it up in game and see what happens! Happy ballin!! 🥎 

If you are the head coach, you can bring it up, or take it to the league to have some clarification across all teams.

If you are the parent, then you can (should) do neither of the above, but you could volunteer to bring more snacks.

[SeeingEyeDog]

Why not stock black only in the dugout and not put it in the umpire's hands?

~Dawg

[beerguy55]

5 hours ago, Guest TH3 said:

Senor and beerguy55 thanks so much! That’s helps. Yes -fast pitch and it’s a 12u league. So one ump may agree that pink kinesiology tape on both  arms of the pitcher that extend to the wrist is distracting and one may not. So if it is distracting all we can do is bring it up in game and see what happens! Happy ballin!!

Well...it's more like one ump may agree...and about 175 would not - in my experience, outside of white/green/yellow I've never seen colour factor into an umpire's decision to what a pitcher can and can't wear...but, yes, as stated above, if your daughter is distracted she can tell her coach, and her coach (whether or not that's you) can discuss with the ump...and if it becomes problematic, get clarification from the league.

I'm sure this will sound harsh, but if I was the coach, your daughter would be told to deal with it...focus on the ball...the big green thing in the pitcher's hand.  We work with what's in our control, and we don't make excuses.  Being distracted, the vast majority of the time, is a choice.   See the ball, hit the ball.  Everything else is noise.   There is ZERO reason pink tape should be a distraction.  And if my players ever determined the pitcher was trying to use the tape as a tactic, their eyes would light up knowing the pitcher must be weak and desperate.

And yes, I have coached that age group, and younger.  Both with recreational players and club players...along with a lot of clinics.  More importantly, I also PLAYED in that age group and younger.

[Rich Ives]

If it's a neutral appropriate skin tone color it's OK.

If it's a fancy colored tape it's a fashion statement, not an aid. Not unlike jewelry.

[JonnyCat]

24 minutes ago, beerguy55 said:

I'm sure this will sound harsh, but if I was the coach, your daughter would be told to deal with it...focus on the ball...the big green thing in the pitcher's hand.  We work with what's in our control, and we don't make excuses.  Being distracted, the vast majority of the time, is a choice.   See the ball, hit the ball.  Everything else is noise. 

This, 100%!!!!! I wish more coaches across the board would have this philosophy, then maybe we wouldn't be hemorrhaging officials.

I grow tired of coaches hinging on every pitch, and holding us to MLB umpire performance. The best coach I ever saw was at a 14u travel tournament my son was playing in Nevada. The opposing teams coaches barely paid any attention to the game. The 3 of them just kind of talked with themselves and only occasionally said words of encouragement to their team. They were one of the most fundamentally sound team I've ever seen. The kids just played and knew what to do in almost every situation. Yes, they won a close game, and not once did any of the coaches, kids, or parents complain at any time about the umpires. Not even ONE pitch. Never said anything unless it was positive. I almost wanted to go sit on their side.

After the game, I went up to the manager and thanked him for how he coached and to get some insight. He said he ran a HS program out of Henderson and that's how he ran his teams. They would run a positive and proper practice, but in games, it was for the kids to play and the coaches to see what the players were doing well, and what the coaches needed to focus on in the next practice. Wish there was more like him.

Unfortunately, it's usually like this:

Idiot that played at a higher level: "I want to coach your kids, because I played (HS, college, minors, pros)"

Stupid parents: "Oh, you must be such a great coach because you played xy or z!"

Idiot coach: "That's right! I'm great because even though I have no formal coaching or teaching training and don't have a clue as to what I'm doing, or even know the rules, I played xy or z!"

Stupid parents: "Let me dump gobs of money and time to you because you're the only one that can get fat no talent Billy to realize my dream of him playing in the pros, because you played xy or z!"

Idiot coach. "Yes, and I'm going to constantly yell at the umpires, because that's what I think I'm supposed to be doing. I've seen it on TV in the pros, so that's how it's done. That way, I'll also be grooming a whole new crop of SH*#head parents and kids that will continue with that practice. Because I played xy or z!"

And when you read this, make sure you do the voices of what a idiot coach and a stupid parent would sound like!

[Aging_Arbiter]

I thought you were referring to me for a moment..........but then I reread it.   I'm fat minimal talent Billy.

[Senor Azul]

The OP still has not told us which code was used for his daughter’s softball game—just the age group. There are several softball organizations with their own set of rules. Apparently, high school rules leave it up to umpire judgment to decide whether a brightly colored tape is distracting or not. But there are groups including the NCAA and USSSA that try to give some guidance by adding the word neutral to their rule--

2020-2021 NCAA softball rule 10.13.4 The pitcher shall not wear any item on the pitching fingers, hand, wrist, forearm or thighs that an umpire considers distracting. This includes a batting glove, sweatband and loose lacing on a glove, or ball-colored logos. Exception: The pitcher’s fingers, hand, wrist, forearm or elbow may be taped for injury, providing such tape is a neutral color.

2020 USSSA softball rule 6-1-I-2. The pitcher’s fingers, hand, wrist, forearm or elbow may be taped for injury, providing such tape is a neutral color.