Strike zone

[NIump50]

Originally Posted by BigUmp56

This isn't slow pitch softball. There isn't one high quality umpire I know that will call a hard breaking curve a strike if it's caught just off of the dirt. Not one! I don't care where it crosses, I'm not calling that crap a strike.



Tim.

so if a pitcher has the ability to throw such a pitch and spot it in the perfect position why would you call it crap? I call it talent and a damn good pitch.
Think through your reasoning
a pitch hits the strike zone and you don't call it.
Under normal circumstances I see only 2 possible reasons.
1. You're a lemming. If no one else is going to call a strike a strike neither am I. I'm following the crowd.
or
2. You're a coward. I want to appease the crowd and coaches. The ball is picked at the ankles and the path of least resistance is a called ball, despite the fact that i saw it catch the knee over the plate. I'm going to penalize the pitcher because I don't want to take the heat.

If there is another reason for calling it a ball please enlighten me.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by NIump50

so if a pitcher has the ability to throw such a pitch and spot it in the perfect position why would you call it crap? I call it talent and a damn good pitch.
Think through your reasoning
a pitch hits the strike zone and you don't call it.
Under normal circumstances I see only 2 possible reasons.
1. You're a lemming. If no one else is going to call a strike a strike neither am I. I'm following the crowd.
or
2. You're a coward. I want to appease the crowd and coaches. The ball is picked at the ankles and the path of least resistance is a called ball, despite the fact that i saw it catch the knee over the plate. I'm going to penalize the pitcher because I don't want to take the heat.

If there is another reason for calling it a ball please enlighten me.

3. Because that is the way it is done when working shaving age players. There. That is the other reason. Neither one of the other two reasons you listed are applicable.

The only pitcher I've ever umpired with a good enough curve to call a strike if it hit the dirt was Barry Zito, and his catcher knew enough to pick it clean and not allow it to hit the ground!

[NIump50]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

3. Because that is the way it is done when working shaving age players. There. That is the other reason. Neither one of the other two reasons you listed are applicable.

The only pitcher I've ever umpired with a good enough curve to call a strike if it hit the dirt was Barry Zito, and his catcher knew enough to pick it clean and not allow it to hit the ground!

I'm asking a legit question. Why?

"because" doesn't usually suffice as a knowledgable answer.
When you were taught this undeniable truth that if a pitch clearly passes thru the strike zone but breaks to the dirt it must be called a ball
Did you ask why?
And was the answer "because"
Where is the fairness in calling a ball clearly seen in the strike zone a ball?

Why do you reward the batter when the pitcher makes a great pitch?

[Justme]

Originally Posted by NIump50

I'm asking a legit question. Why?

"because" doesn't usually suffice as a knowledgable answer.
When you were taught this undeniable truth that if a pitch clearly passes thru the strike zone but breaks to the dirt it must be called a ball
Did you ask why?
And was the answer "because"
Where is the fairness in calling a ball clearly seen in the strike zone a ball?

Why do you reward the batter when the pitcher makes a great pitch?

You just call strikes where you see them. You don't have to listen to any of the experienced umpires that roam this board. What do any of us know right?

The fact that some umpires on the board call upper level ball doesn't mean a thing....what do we know. Don't listen to us, we are obviously doing things wrong and are cowards plus we lack integrity.

If you want to call pitches in the dirt strikes you go right ahead. In fact why don't you call some pitches up around the arm pits strikes too.

What level ball do you work and where do you work? I'd love to come see you work.....maybe I'd learn what it's like to have integrity and courage.

[cbfoulds]

Originally Posted by NIump50

I'm asking a legit question. Why?

"because" doesn't usually suffice as a knowledgable answer.
When you were taught this undeniable truth that if a pitch clearly passes thru the strike zone but breaks to the dirt it must be called a ball
Did you ask why?
And was the answer "because"
Where is the fairness in calling a ball clearly seen in the strike zone a ball?

Why do you reward the batter when the pitcher makes a great pitch?

OK: how about - YOU are the ONLY person, on or off the field who will believe that you called that pitch a strike? Everyone else, probably including the kid who threw it, and definitely including the kid that caught it, will see a pitch that hits the ground before it gets to F2 as a ball. The D coach will not ***** [until you call that a strike on HIS batter], but he'll figgure you missed one in his favor.

[TussAgee11]

Yea there is.

Because when I see it hit the dirt, I see a ball. It has nothing to do with everyone else in the park. It has everything to do with me seeing a ball. So I call it how I see it.

I don't see strikes when the ball hits the dirt. I call them how I see them. You see it differently. I have guidelines for a strike that are different from yours.

So accept diversity, and act like an adult.

[BigUmp56]

Originally Posted by NIump50

so if a pitcher has the ability to throw such a pitch and spot it in the perfect position why would you call it crap? I call it talent and a damn good pitch.

If the pitcher had spotted the pitch in a perfect position it wouldn't have been handled near the dirt by the catcher. A good battery knows this and will work with each other, as well as us to "prove" the pitch. I'll tell you what, the CWS from Omaha will be televised soon. Why don't you watch those games and tell us how many pitches breaking down into the dirt are being called strikes. Hell, they won't even give the pitcher a strike if the catcher turns his glove over to handle the pitch.

Originally Posted by NIump50

Think through your reasoning
a pitch hits the strike zone and you don't call it.
Under normal circumstances I see only 2 possible reasons.
1. You're a lemming. If no one else is going to call a strike a strike neither am I. I'm following the crowd.
or

You're darn right I'm following the crowd. The crowd of individuals I'm following are the traditionalists in baseball officiating who are calling the game as it's intended. The players and the coaches of both teams know that no competent umpire will call that crap a strike in a game played by players over 13 years of age. Why do you feel you're larger than the established tradition of the game?

Originally Posted by NIump50

2. You're a coward. I want to appease the crowd and coaches. The ball is picked at the ankles and the path of least resistance is a called ball, despite the fact that i saw it catch the knee over the plate. I'm going to penalize the pitcher because I don't want to take the heat.

If there is another reason for calling it a ball please enlighten me.

A coward? Maybe, but a coward who understands his place in the game. I'm not going to allow my game to turn into a $hit$torm because I'm calling my strike zone as something they're not accustomed to seeing. Game management 101. When you start calling games for coaches who are paid to coach, and players looking for scholarships you'll come to understand this. Hell, high school is the highest level of ball I work, and the guys you're arguing with work even higher levels than that. They didn't get to that level by inserting themselves into the game.


Tim.

[gsf23]

Originally Posted by NIump50

If there is another reason for calling it a ball please enlighten me.

Because it is the “accepted practice” as I would call it. There are plenty of things in sports and life that, although they don’t jib with the rules, are the “accepted practice”.

A perfect example would be the ‘neighborhood play” at second base in MLB. According to the rules, the pivot man must be touching the base with the ball to get the out, but the “accepted practice” is that the pivot man just be in the area of second base with the ball to get the out. It is the same thing as the ball in the dirt. Sure, technically, it was probably a strike, but the “accepted practice” at the high school level, if not lower, and on up is that a pitch in the dirt or scooped just off the dirt is going to get called a ball.