|
smbbcoach: Baseball is a game of perception. When the fielder takes the throw at 2B and swipes his foot near the bag, but doesn't touch it, before throwing to 1B for the double play, do you call R1 safe? No you don't, because you would be the only person in the park who thinks he's safe. The whole world thinks he's out, so he's out.
Likewise, every person in the park who sees a curveball touch the dirt before the catches gloves it thinks it's a ball. So it's a ball. And since the human eye can't discern whether a curveball truly passed through the strike zone before its "bottom fell out," who are we mortal umpires to say it did? As Carl Childress says, "Never make an extraordinary call on an ordinary play." Your lower-level game won't go on forever if you pick up the high strikes. And in lower-level games give the pitchers three balls outside instead of one and a half. This is game management without sacrificing your credibility.
|