Teaching the strike zone

[GarthB]

I agree with Tee that calling strikes is an art. And like most other artistic endeavors, one learns the mechanics of the art, then the creativeness, or the "art=part" that comes from within, has an avenue to express itself.

So it goes with calling balls and strikes. Teach the mechanics. Then re-teach the mechanics.

Everyone thinks they know the mechanics, but they don't. They may have forgotten. They may have never learned. They may have learned and forgot to use them.

Mechanics.

I've done this for most of the time since 1972. I attended clinics or camps with Doug Harvey in the 70's, top D-1 clinicans and Gerry Davis in the 90's and Jim Evans in the 2000's. Until attending a Desert Classic, I thought I was calling a great strike zone. I had listened and done what I was told.

At Evans, I was amazed at what I had forgot and what I never really did.

The season after that camp I heard comments like: "That was most consistent plate we've seen all year" and "Jesus, Garth, you've become one of the best plate guys we have."

Now, at first I thought, "Hell, was I that bad before?" And as one of our proschool grads told me, no, not bad before, just a hell of lot better now, consistently."

Mechanics allow umpires to do their jobs. Excellent, consistent mechanics are required to do excellent, consistent work.

Will excellent mechanics make everyone better? Yes.
Will they make everyone excellent? No.

But even a great creative sculptor can't create squat without knowing how to use his tools.

Mechanics are our tools.