One of the early lessons that amateur umpires should learn is that MLB umpiring is not necessarily "that" related to what we do.
We enjoy watching, we admire them, we want to wear their black shirts, but their strike zone doesn't have a whole lot to do with our level of ball. And this is a good thing.
As others have commented..."I've always called the high strike." which translates to.. "I adhere closer to the rule book zone than my Professional bretheran".
I always apply the Universal Test of Strikezones.. is it fair? Does the batter have a chance to HIT that ball (ex: a ball width outside thigh high).
In doing adult leagues... I may be settling in on the high end of the zone, say 6" above the belt. I call that strike early.. the batter squacks (skwack?)... and I just tell the catcher.. "This guy is watching too much TV" meaning he sees the pros calling AT and above the belt a BALL.. and thinks that;s a ball in the beer league... uh....
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