[greymule]

"Deep" is not in the rule book, and where it came from I don't know, but the term is widely used and universally understood at the higher levels, at least here in central NJ. It means that the pitch did not make the back shoulder. It went over the zone. In baseball parlance, it was "high," but "high" means something else in SP.

Unfortunately, many players (and some umpires) think "deep" means that the pitch hit too far behind the plate. I've had catchers, before the first pitch of the game, ask me where my "line" is. Some umpires even draw a "strike line" before the game starts. But of course there is no line—the ball has to pass through the zone, and where it can hit and be a strike varies with the height of the pitch.

I will be the first to admit that if you have spent the weekend calling a true "tournament" zone, the E league pitchers you have Monday night may have trouble throwing strikes. And I have had many games in which one or both pitchers has complained that my zone is too tight.

In my experience, there is significant variability by region. Pennsylvania and Delaware teams invariably think our umps call too tight a zone. New Jersey teams think Delaware and Maryland umps give the pitcher too much.

Another regional variation: absolutely no SP umpire in this area follows the ASA mechanic and bends at the waist as the pitch is on the way. I tried that for a little while, but pitches that I normally would have called as deep/over the zone/high looked like strikes.

As for height on pitches, I've never been able to use the brim of the hat or trees beyond the outfield fence or any other such markers. A slight difference in stance seems to change the perspective drastically. To me, if there's doubt, it's high. You will have far fewer problems if you enforce height right from the beginning. The pitchers may gripe in the first inning, but if you start letting them get away with high pitches, the game can get out of control quickly.

The good pitchers know that high pitches, as well as "deep" ones, are very difficult to hit. So at the beginning of the game they routinely test an ump they don't know to see what they can get away with.

rwest, my advice is "make the pitcher throw strikes."