Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy
I would rather sacrifice the bottom of the zone. If a catcher is blocking me out where I have to adjust, any borderline pitches become balls. If it's the batter, they are strikes. If the catcher asks, I will tell her I can't get a good look because she is blocking me and forcing me to adjust to a position where I may not be able to see the whole zone as well as I would like.
I won't tell a catcher where to set up, just the potential results if she sets up in certain spots. One of the best phrases I ever heard to tell a catcher was...Catch, help me call strikes!
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I used to use (and teach) that method, but it has been made clear in NCAA, at least, that we are expected and required to adjust, that we cannot tell the catcher she is blocking us on a consistent basis. Telling an NCAA D1 catcher (or coach; she will tell the coach immediately) that is an almost instant way to resign from that conference, is my observation.
So, my response and reaction is a definitive "it depends". I do not wish to give up my slot, and the consistency on the corners I want it to give me (or help me, if I am struggling). I strive for a true and full corner plus river, both sides of the plate, and am willing to be considered to have missed a pitch up or down, but not in or out.
If the catcher is shifting and crowding, I will set up higher, only, so as to not lose the corners, and attempt to adjust the bottom of the zone as best I can (that is, after all, one of the judgments necessary based on the varying batter sizes, anyway, and isn't ever as locked in as the corners).
If it is the batter crowding the plate and hanging over, I prefer to keep my feet where they belong, and lean a little early to pick up the pitch, and work back to my standard location during the pitch, so the pitch doesn't "explode" on me at the plate. I can assure you that if the batter is crowding, and the inside pitch doesn't hit her, and is appropriate height-wise, it is a called strike, even if it is a bit further in than the actual corner!!
In ball less defined than top level NCAA, I will stretch that inside corner (when I can) to keep the batters off the plate. But, can't do it in NCAA D1, and certainly many batters will NOT back off, would rather turn into the pitch that misses the exact corner inside for the free base.
That's just me, and how I handle the various causes.