Quote:
Originally posted by Ref Ump Welsch
Imagine this, a pitch that is a little "short" and off to the side of the plate, that little area in "fair" territory. Do you always call that a strike, even if it never crossed the plate? Same thing for allowing the steal. My UIC got on my case over that last year when we allowed stealing in one of the men's leagues here.
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Whether the pitch would be called a strike is not relevant to the rule. What do you mean by "a little short"? Do you mean that the ball did not cross enough of the plate to be called a strike? I know some umpires require that the ball cross a certain portion of the plate before calling it a stike. Is this what you are referring to? Are you saying that if the pitch, in your estimation, did not cross enough of the plate to be called a strike, then the ball is not live? My understanding of the strike zone is that if any part of the ball crosses any part of the plate in the strike zone it is a strike, regardless of where it lands. But that is beside the point when discussing the stealing rule. Again, it has no bearing, in my opinion.
[Edited by rwest on Jun 13th, 2005 at 11:25 AM]