Strike Pitch - Do you still call it?

[D-Man]

...for the physics perfessers out there.

How much can a pitched ball break from the front of the plate to the catchers mitt, say, 2 feet away? Understood fact: the ball will be travelling at its slowest velocity so it would be breaking at its greatest magnitude. Is it possible for a pitch, thrown overhand at a speed of, say, 60 mph, that needs to be blocked by a mitt touching the dirt, to be a strike given an 18" high batter's knee?

I'm not saying don't get the knee pitch nor am I saying call it where he catches it. Simply accept that we have a bad look at the low line of the zone and the coaches view is better. If the ball can't get to the catcher's knee then it was never a strike.

D

[Rich]

Originally Posted by D-Man

...for the physics perfessers out there.

How much can a pitched ball break from the front of the plate to the catchers mitt, say, 2 feet away? Understood fact: the ball will be travelling at its slowest velocity so it would be breaking at its greatest magnitude. Is it possible for a pitch, thrown overhand at a speed of, say, 60 mph, that needs to be blocked by a mitt touching the dirt, to be a strike given an 18" high batter's knee?

I'm not saying don't get the knee pitch nor am I saying call it where he catches it. Simply accept that we have a bad look at the low line of the zone and the coaches view is better. If the ball can't get to the catcher's knee then it was never a strike.

D

It's gotta be a strike THROUGH the zone which means it's gotta end up caught at or above the batter's knee for me to call it a strike. At any level. Anyone who calls pitches almost in the dirt strikes -- I guarantee your timing is a bit too quick and you're deciding on the pitch too early.

[DG]

The zone goes to the hollow beneath the knee, at least in OBR and NCAA, and I call it that way, if the catcher "sticks" the catch. If he is dropping to his knees it's a ball because a pitch at the hollow is easily catchable.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Rich Fronheiser

It's gotta be a strike THROUGH the zone which means it's gotta end up caught at or above the batter's knee for me to call it a strike. At any level. Anyone who calls pitches almost in the dirt strikes -- I guarantee your timing is a bit too quick and you're deciding on the pitch too early.

Rich,

Have you ever umpired a pitcher with a very sharp 12 to 6 curveball, such as the one Barry Zito throws when he is on? I sure have, Barry Zito. He had a wicked nasty breaking ball as a HS pitcher. The ball could break down through the bottom of the strike zone, above the knee, and land in the dirt in front of the catcher. The pitches were absolutely solid strikes, yet by where they were caught looked like they were low. With most pitchers, they would have been low and called balls, but you just couldn't do that with Zito.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Rich,

Have you ever umpired a pitcher with a very sharp 12 to 6 curveball, such as the one Barry Zito throws when he is on? I sure have, Barry Zito. He had a wicked nasty breaking ball as a HS pitcher. The ball could break down through the bottom of the strike zone, above the knee, and land in the dirt in front of the catcher. The pitches were absolutely solid strikes, yet by where they were caught looked like they were low. With most pitchers, they would have been low and called balls, but you just couldn't do that with Zito.

I would, all day long, if the catcher didn't move up and stick them.