The NCAA Baseball Rules Committee reaffirmed its position on what constitutes a regulation game and continued its review of the strike zone at its annual meeting July 12-15 in Boston.

All rules proposals will be reviewed by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel in September.

The committee spent considerable time discussing the definition of a regulation game. After last season's allowance for many early season games played at warm-weather tournament sites that were not consistent with the rules as written, the committee decided to clarify its rules book and reaffirm its stance.

"Last season certainly opened our eyes to a larger issue and problem," said Chris McKnight, chair of the committee and head coach at Frostburg State University. "It remains our belief, however, that the game should be nine innings if it is a single game. We want consistency with how our game is played."

Doubleheaders -- the source of much of the confusion last season -- were discussed at length. Many early season tournaments in the past have used the provision to play two seven-inning games. However, in many cases, the games were not between the same two teams -- a violation of the rule. The committee clarified the language in the rules book and added typical examples and interpretations collected over the past year.

"We want to get this information out as soon as it is approved so coaches and tournament directors can adjust accordingly," McKnight said.

The committee also approved a provision that allows all conferences to establish a travel policy when commercial air travel is required. Provided the contest meets the established criteria of a regulation game, the committee feels that returning to campus and reducing missed class time is a valid reason for ending a contest.

"The committee wants to be clear that conferences must have a policy in place," McKnight said. "This is not an issue that occurs very often, but we do feel it is important to reduce missed class time and reduce expenses without losing the integrity of the full contest. We feel this accomplishes that goal."

Strike zone discussion

Committee members in their discussion of the strike zone agreed that while improvements have been made, umpires should continue their focus on the high strike. Some committee members also were concerned about pitches well off the plate that are being called strikes.

McKnight said the committee has asked Dave Yeast, national coordinator of umpires, to continue to focus on improving the strike zone nationally and to build on the positive changes seen over time. "We realize this is a large task," McKnight said. "but this is one area that truly affects the way our game is played."

Committee members noted that a national coordinator for Division III umpires will work in conjunction with Yeast for the first time this season, and that a Division II coordinator will be hired in the near future. They believe the additional coordinators will help the committee encourage umpires to continue to improve the enforcement of the strike zone and other areas of the rules book.

The committee also altered pitching rules relating to the wind-up. Now, any portion of the non-pivot foot must be behind the back edge of the pitching rubber and a line extended in the wind-up position. The committee has noticed pitchers gaining an advantage with different angles and also deceiving runners by disguising the wind-up as a set position.

"This will be a pretty big change for a handful of pitchers," McKnight said. "The majority of pitchers start with their feet together in the wind-up, as we traditionally think of this position. But we've started to see pitchers using the non-pivot foot in front of the rubber. That isn't the intent of the original rule."

A complete list of rules changes, once approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel in September, will be sent to all head coaches and conference administrators. Changes also will be posted on the NCAA Web site.

Other highlights

Baseball Rules Committee
July 21-15/Boston

• Clarified Rule 1-12-b so that when a player uses a bat that is later determined to be out of round, the batter is out and no runners may advance. The committee feels in many cases, bats may change during play and a player should not be ejected automatically, unless the bat clearly was altered.

• Altered Rule 1-13-c so that the pitcher's glove may be any combination of colors, except white or gray. The committee noted there are many two-toned gloves on the market, and the group does not believe any advantage is gained by a pitcher using those gloves.

• Added and approved ruling to the ejection definition in Rule 2 to assist administrators and umpires in dealing with ejections that occur after a game is officially completed. In those situations, the ejection shall be enforced as a suspension from the next contest.

• Noted that a proposal regarding tobacco use from the group's 2004 annual meeting will go into effect this season. The penalty for tobacco use remains ejection for the offending individual; however, the head coach of the offending team also will be ejected. Additionally, in Rule 3-11, the committee added that an umpire's jurisdiction with regard to this rule begins upon the umpire's arrival on the field in uniform.

• Recommended that Gary Vaught, head coach at the University of Indianapolis, be the new chair of the committee, replacing Chris McKnight of Frostburg State University.