strike zone and philosophy

[GarthB]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PeteBooth

Who are the CUSTOMERS?

We can aruge who a customer is all day long (players, fans, coaches, etc.) but in my experience, the important customer is the one who writes the checks. Normally that is a league or a tournament organization or the state.

How can you look bad when your Customers want you to open up the zone.

I have never had a customer ask me to open my zone.

I do not know how your association works, but in mine Coaches have a say in who umpires their games. Therefore, if the coaches who are your Customers want a certain zone who are you to argue. It's not OUR GAME it's theirs.
Also, you get to go home early - What's wrong with that.

Fortunately we do not have as system like that here. Coaches aren't allowed to alter the rules or dictate umpire's strike zones. And while going home early is enjoyable some nights, it's not a goal I attend to during a game.

IMO, I do not think that opening up your zone will make you inconsistent for the next game. If it does then IMO you have problems with your mechanics to begin with.

I would disgree. Nothing builds consistency like practicing consistency. That's a fact.

Once the game becomes rediculous, and is OVER, it's OVER meaning open up the zone and get out of dodge.


Again, start with an appropiate zone and stay there. Don't wait until the 5th inning to move to an appropriate zone. Batter's know in the 6th inning what I will call a strike. They don't get surprised. And I've never had a coach complain about me being consistent throughout the game. I have seen some coaches get tossed because they were upset over an "evolving" strike zone throughout a game.

But, Im not trying to convert you, Pete. You work whatever way makes you comfortable, and I'll do the same.

[Edited by GarthB on Jul 13th, 2004 at 02:05 PM]

[jumpmaster]

Originally posted by orioles35
After just finshing up a Babe Ruth tournament where there was NO time limit, I concur. I had a 22-17 game, there were a few others of similar scores including a 28-20 game that lasted FOUR AND A HALF HOURS. $50/game isn't worth it in that case.

$50/GAME???!!!! I was paid $35 per game, 3 games a day with the last SCHEDULED to start at 9:30 PM.

As for the zone arguement - I worked the dish last night for a loser's bracket game. The home team was a remake of a very bad HS team that I had the "pleasure" of seeing during the HS season. 1st inning, visitors score 6 runs, w/ 4 walks, 2 hit batters and 6 errors, 0 K's and 3 pitchers. Bottom of 1st, home team is shut down 1-2-3 with 9 straight heaters down the pipe. As expected, this game is not really a game but a slaughter.

2nd inning I ask the catcher, where do you think the outside of the zone is? He lines up with the center of the mit about 2-1/2 baseballs off the black. I ask "if you are batting - do you want me to call a strike?" "Yes, sir" he responds. "Then there we go". Turns out, that outside pitch, only 1 baseball larger than my normal got us through the night in 2.5 hours because the visitors couldn't put it away.

[DG]

In my area, Senior Babe Ruth pitchers can pitch, and therefore a state tournament of all stars who won a district tournament, most likely, would involve pitchers who can pitch. My earlier comments about strike zone are based on this fact.