Quote:
Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve
YMMV, but if I had ever called a strike at the top of the "new" zone at the varsity level, I would have been run out of town on a rail! I've never seen an umpire intentionally give a high strike in any of the games I worked.
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I've done it several times (called the high strike). One in particular that I remember was the Home Coach (HS) came to us before the game complaining about an associates strike zone being "on friggen wheels". He said that he was sick of these "interpreted strike zones" and "why can't umpires just call the strike zone as the book says!". I stated that we will be happy to oblige his request and he "harumphed" his way back to the field.
I called letter high pitches as strikes from the 1st inning to the 7th inning. In the bottom of the 1st, the Home Coach started complaining and I stepped back from the plate with my hand up and said in his direction, "By the book, Coach! Just as you asked for in the parking lot!". Not another word was spoken and amazingly enough, the batters were actually swinging at them and hitting them! The opposing blasted 3 homers on letter high pitches!