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Old Wed Oct 12, 2005, 02:34pm
ChapJim ChapJim is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 79
You will not make any friends with the person closest to you (the plate umpire) if you pull pitches into the strike zone, although you'll get away with it with inexperienced umpires. Umpires don't like to get conned by 15-year olds and they don't like having coaches tell them that they got conned. If you pull a pitch, that says you think it wasn't good enough to call a strike.

The evaluation guide for my association says that most close pitches should be called strikes and the umpire is downgraded if he doesn't. Generally speaking, umpires want to call strikes but you've got to help. If you are proud of the pitch and want the umpire to call a strike, hold the ball still. Stick it (that's called "framing"), as mentioned above, and you will get the close pitches.

Good luck, stay tough.

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