[JefferMC]

First of all, the umpires that said they were trained to do something weren't (IIRC) the ones that described odd shapes, their deviations from pit/knee/plate weren't the ones I was decrying.

The posters that described the odd shapes implied these were personal preferences, using words like "I like," or "my strike zone" not "I was taught." Mike, your post described a square. Although the oval poster does, unfortunately, say he teaches this.

I do have the NFHS softball rules and umpires manual, but not here with me at the moment. Maybe I'm blocking out an unpleasant memory, but I remember nothing in there like what you're describing.

The fact that it takes two or three different books, most of which are either not available to the general public or at least difficult to obtain, FOR EACH ASSOCIATION, just to have the complete story is a seperate tirade. Is the ASA rulebook online? No. Is the ASA Umpire Manual available online (p 207 or otherwise)? No. Can it be ordered easily? My efforts so far to obtain either have failed.

It's like telling the police that you should ticket anyone who runs a yellow light, but putting in the drivers training book not to run a red light, but proceed with caution through a yellow.

Basically, I guess I've two separate issues, one of which you address:

1) As someone calling a game, I should be trained to do it right. I won't argue that point.

2) As a fan/parent, I have a problem with what amounts to be a secret cabal deciding that the rules will be interpreted in a way different from what is the explicit written, and commonly understood, version of them.