[greymule]

I'm glad to see somebody posting on this subject. I went to the GD a few years ago and have never felt more confident behind the plate. I back up pretty far, too.

However, when I started (in baseball) back in the 1960s, I was strictly "over the top" (with a balloon) like most umpires in those days. After years of that, I found moving to the "slot" very difficult when it became the norm. I felt too close and couldn't really judge the outside corner. I know that others will scoff, but I didn't feel confident on high pitches and tended to lower the top of the zone.

With the GD, I can still go up or down with the various heights of batters. I also get a better view of what happens in terms of checked swings, balls hitting of the batter's foot, and so on. To me, the only drawback of the GD is that with my hands on my thighs, my arms tend to lock and not "give" when balls hit them. Maybe I'm doing that part wrong. Of course, I agree with the other posters who say that you have to use what works for yourself.

Incidentally, I used the GD in the 2006 ASA 16u finals in NJ. The state UIC told me that he didn't understand how I could see the pitch in that position, but he didn't ask me to change.