head height in the box

[Carl Childress]

Originally posted by Patrick Szalapski
Say Garth, let's get clear on the terminology. The stances are "Box", "Scissors", or "Knee", and the positions are "Slot" and "Over-the-top," right? I work the slot in the box.

Hmm, I learned previously that my eyes should be at the top of the strike zone. Is this too low? It serves me well, but I'm open to consider a change.

P-Sz

Amateurs write about two "box" stances: (a) hell-to-toe; and (b) squared. Technically, the NL box is the squared (wrestler's) stance.

Someone said that the Gerry Davis stance is heel-to-toe. I must tell you that stance is clearly on its way out. Most MLUs now use the squared stance. It is simply the old American League stance, shifted left/right about three feet into the appropriate slot.

The reason is crystal: Umpires who routinely call three- to four-hour games need a good, solid, balanced stance. The emergence of the "wrestler's box" is also sounding a death kneel to the scissors.

Finally, until the last 10 years or so, BOX was "over-the-top" (AL) and SLOT was "between catcher and batter" (NL). (The point: BOX was a position, not a stance.) But the PRO graduates appropriated "box" when they began to square up in wrestler's style. Now, the distinctions are all blurred.

Here's my prediction: If the VIPs succeed in forcing umpires and players to accept a high strike, more and more umpires will move to: (1) scissors and (2) over-the-top (AL box). Then, since the scissors puts an inordinate strain on the leg muscles, gradually the MLUs will return to over-the-top, i.e., the BOX. The point: That has always been acknowledged as the best spot from which to view high strikes.

An umpire in the BOX is never blocked up or out. It is a position that seem tailor-made of Alderson's "experiment."

ONE FINAL PIECE OF ADVICE: If you are an umpire of amateur games, this coming season you should CHANGE NOTHING ABOUT YOUR ESTABLISHED ZONE.