Framing pitches

[Warren Willson]

Originally posted by SC Ump

...[snip]...

However, I hope I don't now or in the future use "framing" as part of my decision in ruling a strike or a ball.

FWIW, I think Dave Hensley has it 100% right in his response.

I think you may have (marginally) missed the point. It isn't that you should consciously use whether or not the catcher framed the pitch in your decision-making - rather it is that the catcher framing the pitch makes is possible for you to use all the right cues to decide the true path of the marginal pitch in relation to the strike zone.

A well-framed pitch let's the umpire, and others, see the whole path of the pitch. A dragged or "pulled" pitch doesn't.

A well-framed pitch gives the umpire the opportunity to allow the benefit of any doubt to the pitcher. A dragged marginal pitch just looks bad to everybody and calling it a strike, no matter how marginal, tars the umpire with that same brush. It tells everyone that the catcher thought the pitch was outside.

Hope this helps

Cheers