|
"Give them a ball's width on either side of the plate"
Elaine - please define "ball's width." If you mean the inside edge of the ball is touching the plate (the outside edge is then 4" off the plate) then I fully agree. I even go an inch further to the outside. So from outside edge of ball to outside edge, my strike zone is 26" wide(4"+17"+5") from the waist down. (Much narrower at the top.)
But if you are saying that the inside edge of the ball is a "ball's width" off the plate, then NO WAY! It is those balls 3" - 4" off the plate that I see pitchers and catchers expecting to be called strikes. That is what is frustrating me. Who is teaching those kids that those balls should be strikes?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Become a 'pitcher's umpire'
Interesting comment because I have been a pitching coach for many years. I love the inside corner pitch at the knees which, when well placed, is almost unhittable. I've taken a lot of catcalls over the years for calling that pitch. (Especially at younger levels where the knees are only 12" off the ground and the catcher's are too far back. All the fans see is F2 catching the ball on her shoe tops!)
But I like hitting also, and I see too many players swinging at pitches that are 4"-5" outside. (By that I mean with an air gap of 4"-5" between the closest edge of the ball and the plate.) I think that they are swinging at them because they are being call strikes (when they shouldn't be).
WMB
|