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Just more of the same nonsense...
Good morning lads...Skilling promises 50-60 degrees soon, so I'm getting itchy. (Drove by one of my favorite schools and saw the team practicing in the parking lot last week, then we get snow!) It shant be long before we are treading the frozen tundra.
This topic falls smack dab in the 'get the call right' department. I don't screw a kid over on a base call and I don't hunt for strikes. Even when I've shrouded myself in UA, turtleneck, chest protector and plate coat to ward off the cold, my zone stays the same. That's pretty much the entire Spring in these parts!
A good strike zone will get you farther than excellent base mechanics. Calling close pitches strikes is bad karma. If it's a strike call it, if it's not - you'd better let it go. The cock-high fastball is easy to call; the best umpires can call a ball on one that's just outside and not hear a peep. Learn how to be consistent and sell the close balls.
Coaches know that if you are calling it two balls out for them, you are also taking the bat out of their hands when you 'call it both ways' (grin). I'm not saying that your strike zone needs to be a teacup, but the rules clearly allow the seams to barely nibble a corner and your call of "Strike". I know there are a few proponents of finding strikes when you need them, but that is amateur umpiring at its' worst. You aren't helping the game or yourself by calling lots of strikes that aren't truly there. In fact, you are teaching batters to swing at bad pitches and showing the world that you don't care.
The best teams are supposed to win. Pitchers don't get better when they see you call a strike that is three balls outsde either. Unless you've got a bet on the game, stick to the rules or stay home.
As an aside, I was lucky enough to be able to call a few games when Kirby Puckett played at Triton College years ago. He was a good kid who didn't deserve to go that quickly. The last few years were unfair to him but he was somethng else to watch on the field.
[Edited by WhatWuzThatBlue on Mar 7th, 2006 at 05:39 AM]
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You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.
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