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If the black is showing then you can get away with calling it because most people and some umps think it is part of the plate but it is not. Take the ruler out and measure the white part across and you will find it is 17 inches just like the rule book says.
You wanna call the back shoulder, then make sure you call 12 feet and not thirteen and 14 and fifteen feet as legal. Otherwise you take the bat out of the players and give an advantage to the defensive team.
There was mention of this in referee magazine by Mr. Butler on this aspect: he was instructing the umpires to call it at 12 feet and that was not being called correctly by the umps. (he here was not talking about your ordinary ump but the guys who got the big games).
If you want to know how accurate your 12 feet is, have someone go behind the fences behind home plate. Most have horizontal bars across at 6 feet and 12 feet. Have that person count the number of times the ball goes above it and then compare it to the number of times you called it. You'll be surprised how many you missed unless you call twelve feet.
If the pitch does not cross the strike zone, I generally did not call it a strike unless I had a blowout.
ASA's strike zone might have something to do with why they have lost a lot of leagues and tournaments in Houston Area. Most are USSSA and NSA.
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