plate mechanic

[pdxblue]

My take on this is that if you have established a good zone in the first couple of innings, and are CONSISTENT calling it, the catcher will usually take care of you concerning letting the coach know where the pitch was. If he lies to him, I "clean" the already clean plate while letting the catcher know that I don't appreciate him crossing me up. They usually get the point!

Really, with a consistent zone coupled with 99 out 100 catchers, I don't need to announce the location of a ball because the catcher will do that for me. EVEN on very close pitches, the catcher will usually defend my call to the coach.

I found that if the coach and catcher aren't visibly disturbed by my call, the fans shut up too.

So really, the key is the call a consistent, good zone.