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Originally Posted by Dakota
I'm not trying to convince you of anything JM. Do what you want. You're set in your (erroneous) beliefs.
However, remember your high school geometry?
How deep is the plate?
How tall is your typical SB catcher when in the crouch?
Now, imaging this catcher jam up behind the plate.
How tall do you have to be to see the entire plate while in your stance 3,4,+ (whatever variation you use) feet behind the catcher?
One of two things... if you think you can see the entire plate,
You aren't really using the GD stance, or
You are kidding yourself (don't get mad).
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Dakota;
I do not get mad, I enjoy the banter....hearing other umpires opinions is helpful, regardless of whether or not it's accurate
I have found that softball umpires tend not to like the GD stance while it is becoming more widely used in baseball, especially by us ‘older’ umpires. My knees just won’t hold up for a long game using the more traditional stances and I’ve tried them all over the years.
I guess that I have used the GD stance so much that I know longer have the limitations that you mentioned, or I have learned to work around them. I can see where if the catcher crowded over the plate it would be difficult to see the outside corner but I still have a good visual (in my mind) of where it is. Like Mick says “the plate doesn’t move.”
The overall view of the strike zone that is afforded by the GD stance far outweighs, IMHO, any of the ‘faults’ that are said to the associated with it. As I’m sure you know, this stance, like anything you try new, needs to be learned properly (not just by reading about it) and practiced.