Quote:
Originally posted by Justme
Now that my first high school softball umpire meeting/class is behind me I find myself learning new things like: Which bats don't meet the 2004 ASA Bat Performance Standard; Chopped Hit; Crow Hop; Pitcher's Circle; Slap Hit; DP/FLEX; Intentionally removing lines; New Pitching Regulations; Look Back; No lead offs and I'm sure that there will be more.
I have a couple of questions for you guys. I apologize in advance if my questions seem 'stupid' but I'm an old dog trying to learn new tricks.. some of you might know how difficult that can be. Let me thank you guys in advance for your patience.
My first question concerns the softball strike zone that was defined in my meeting last night. I know what the book says but our instructor said that the zone should be 27" wide. He explained it as the plate is 17" + the black edge of our plates are 1" on each side (= 19" so far) + the width of a ball, 4" on each side. That equals 27". Is this the 'standard' (for lack of a better word) HS strike zone? I'm accustomed to calling a much tighter baseball strike zone but I will call the zone my assignor is looking for.
Second question concerns working the 3-man system on a 60' field. I have years of experience working 3-man in baseball (90' field) but I have never seen it on a small field. I know the basic A, B & C positions for a 60' field. My question is what are the umpire positions in the various scenarios? They'll teach me this but I'd like to have a little advanced knowledge if possible. In baseball it's:
POS 1B 3B
Empty --- A A
1b --- A B
2b --- B A
1b & 2b --- A B
2b & 3b --- B A
1b & 3b --- A B
Loaded --- A B
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I'll tackle the first part, largely because I haven't been berated for, oh, about 10 minutes.
The zone is indeed 27 inches wide, and is that wide for HS, ASA, whatever - just as your instructor described it.
The ENTIRE ball doesn't have to be over the plate...it's nice if it "nicks" the corner or whatever. And yes, it is bigger than the baseball zone.
In your high school books (taking for granted you are doing NFHS) there are diagrams for two-man and three-man mechanics. Study up on those. Among other things, in three-man with a runner only on first, no one is in the usual "B" position. The 3B umpire would be in a position determined by a straight line running from third through second and extending about 10 feet or so (depending on where your UIC wants you to be along that line - I know what the book says, but also know that different UICs want you in different places along that line).
And, in 3-man, no one is ever in "C." Well, I take that back, I have seen someone screw it up and be there, but that's not the prescribed position.
Study the diagrams...and then study them some more.