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Originally Posted by insatty
I believe in the old saw that calling balls and strikes takes 50% timing and 50% courage. And you definitely need the courage to call the high strike that the NCAA requires. Our local collegiate umpiring association evaluates each on calling the zone according to the NCAA emphasis points. So if an umpire resists the high strike because of the moans, groans, and *****ing, he will not be invited back for the next season. One of the reasons there still is residual *****ing over the high strikes is because some of the "old dogs" want more to be liked than good.
So in order to survive in the world in which I umpire, I call the high strike and get tough on the *****ing early and often. But I find that if it is called consistently for both sides, the complaining doesn't last past the third inning.
Other than that, kudos to Rich F. and T. Alan for telling it like it is. Perception is reality in the balls-and-strikes game, so the catcher must make the pitch look good. And the umpire who is courageous enough to call a lot of strikes is the one that moves up.
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Oh yes, the high strike. That one hasn't been a problem in my area. It's as simple as "The NCAA wants it, and I'm calling it." Really, most of the D3 coaches (that's all there is in my area, for the most part) are OK with it.
The problem most lower-level umpires face when "moving up" is being consistent on the knee. Higher level pitchers can throw darts at the knee and tracking and timing are crucial to getting that pitch and being consistent with it.
I won't ball a cockshot that gets dropped and I even called a strike on a pitch caught palm up yesterday that seemed to cross up the catcher. So it's not a hard and fast rule, but a good catcher can certainly buy a few strikes for his F1.