Quote:
Originally posted by Rog
Now, will it be applied across the board in all the lower
leagues and levels of the game as well????????
...[snip]...
To my batter's it was: "if you go up there looking for YOUR pitch, I'll see ya back here real soon!"
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Rog,
I think it depends on the level of the game.
1. Certain levels of LL have always called the high strike. It gives the inexperienced pitchers a bit more latitude without hurting the batters. That high pitch is very hittable.
2. OTOH, I will be surprised if MLB pitchers use it too much. That pitch above the belt is in home run territory, if the batter is good enough. Most pitchers won't use it, except perhaps as a surprise strike on an inside fastball.
There are two schools of thought on the high strike. One says that it's a hitter's pitch and pitchers won't use it. The other says it's a good percentage pitch because the hitters will usually be under it for a pop fly or a foul. I subscribe to the former school of thought, but only because we aren't talking about a pitch at the armpits here, despite what the managers believe.
Sure the umpires are gonna call a "book zone", but that still leaves the upper limit at most two balls above the belt. That's a hitter's bread and butter area, IMHO. If we were talking up to the armpits for pitchers with serious gas, that would be different. The umpires are talking one or two balls above the belt, not the 12 inches or more extra that the managers are talking about (unless you measure that from the box which was the upper limit for some MLB umps).
The part of this story that is of more interest to me is that they've also agreed to bring the outside pitch back to the plate. I can see it now. Endless replays trying to pick if there is any black between the plate and the ball on that 0-2 outside corner fastball. The pitchers are gonna be hurt by this one, big time, which is the exact opposite of the expressed intention as I understand it.
I think you can expect to see this zone called at Varsity and College, eventually, but it might take at least one season before that happens. Sort of "Let's make sure it stays there before we do anything drastic". Most upper levels work on the principle of calling what the people expect, all the while knowing that the people "expect" the MLB zone because that's the one they know about.
Just my $AUD0.05c worth. (grin)
Cheers,
Warren Willson