[nickrego]

I personally have been hit much less in the arms since switching to the GD two years ago. Don't worry, your arms aren't that locked in. They will give if you get a direct hit, trust me.

The high part of the zone has nothing to do with the Catcher, unless it is a curve ball, which I will talk about in a moment.

Every time a batter steps into the box, you have to determine THAT batter's high side of the zone. It should be an imaginary line, half way between the belt and the top of the shoulders. Most of us use a line between the belt and the armpits, as the book high side is really kind of high to hit and looks like a Ball to the rest of the world. Try to find something on the batter's jersey, logo or button, that is close to the line that you can use.

Now, for those curve balls that come in high, and break down through the zone. If the catcher catches that pitch (unless you have really tall batter) above their chin, call it a ball. I personally feel that is the most difficult high strike to call consistently, unless you use the catch / catcher location. But that is just me.