Strike Zone

[tarheelcoach]

I am a school coach who has started doing some rec umpiring as a prelude to moving up to the HS ranks when I stop coaching.
Tonight the coach was giving me a hard time about my strike zone. This is the same community in which I coach, and he kept saying "These aren't HS kids, they are 9 years old." He thought my zone was tight.
I give them the benefit of the doubt vertically, but nothing horizontally. My feeling is that 9 year olds can still hit a pitch a little low or a little high, but there's no way they can cover a pitch off the plate, especially the smaller kids.

What do you think? How do you adjust your zone for the lower levels?

[mick]

Originally Posted by tarheelcoach

I am a school coach who has started doing some rec umpiring as a prelude to moving up to the HS ranks when I stop coaching.
Tonight the coach was giving me a hard time about my strike zone. This is the same community in which I coach, and he kept saying "These aren't HS kids, they are 9 years old." He thought my zone was tight.
I give them the benefit of the doubt vertically, but nothing horizontally. My feeling is that 9 year olds can still hit a pitch a little low or a little high, but there's no way they can cover a pitch off the plate, especially the smaller kids.

What do you think? How do you adjust your zone for the lower levels?

As I recall, top of shoulders to bottom of knees and everything hittable in and out.

[JRutledge]

If I can get kids that age to get around the plate, I am likely going to call a strike. When you say you would not give anything horizontally, I would ask why? I know I give a ball or two outside during college games, I might give a little more at a 9 year old game if for no other reason to get kids to swing at the ball. I am not saying get ridiculous, but I would not expect them to hit corners like a Major League pitcher. Even Major League Umpires give a little bit on the corners some times.

Peace

[justanotherblue]

Widen her up. As JR mentioned, bats reach. I was given that phrase my first year umpiring from a good friend. Especially in the black and blue!

[bossman72]

Coach, since you're new to this, try and be a PITCHER'S umpire. Call strikes, everyone's happy, kids swing the bat, the game moves quicker.

I especially wouldn't be squeezing them at that age level.

[ncump7]

The more strikes you call, the more they swing the bat, the better the game moves along. If you don't call strikes, they will not swing. You do not have to move too far outside or inside. A ball width will make a lot of difference. Once you start calling it and get comfortable with it, you will see the difference.

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by tarheelcoach

Tonight the coach was giving me a hard time about my strike zone. This is the same community in which I coach, and he kept saying "These aren't HS kids, they are 9 years old." He thought my zone was tight.

If it's one coach on one night, then forget about it.

If it's most coaches on most nights, then your zone is probably too tight for the expectations / desires of that league.

[JR12]

Nobody comes to watch their kid walk 3 times!!

[David B]

Originally Posted by JR12

Nobody comes to watch their kid walk 3 times!!

Exactly! My son is playing in the 9 yr old league this season and as a parent you can never tell if the pitch is in or out - but you can tell if its high or low.

So its very easy to expand the zone in and out and highly recommended.

Make them swing the bat - the games are too boring as it is.

Don't worry about the coaches, they just want the game to move along also.

Thanks
David

[PeteBooth]

The strike zone as defined in the rule-book was not meant for "rug-rats"
IMO, at that age baseball should be strictly instructional. Teach the fundamentals etc.

At the age of 9 kids should simply have fun and learn about the game. There should be a separate and distinct set of rules for "pee-wee" baseball if you will.

The other sports (Football/basketball/hockey) have separate and distinct rules for the pee-wee divisions and so should baseball.

You cannot expect the OBR rule-book (which most youth leagues use) to be a guide for 9 yr. olds.

Ok I know you didn't ask for my opinion on that. You asked about the zone. At that age, have a very BIG zone. No-one likes a walk-a-thon. Get the kids to start swinging otherwise they will not take the bat off their shoulders.

Pete Booth

[greymule]

tarheelcoach, you have experienced firsthand why umpiring youth ball is often far more difficult than umpiring at higher levels, where you can usually simply set up your zone and then call it the entire day.

I remember summers where my easiest assignments were in a league full of college pitchers. Nobody expected the umpire to make order out of chaos.

In college FP softball, I've had many a doubleheader in which there were only two or three walks total. Recently I had one with zero, and I even had trouble remembering whether we had seen a three-ball count. Games like those—where 75% of the pitches are strikes, even with the top of the zone lowered from the rule book definition—are cake, but everybody in the park thinks you did a great job. Further, the batters know that strikes are coming and are up there swinging, not looking for a walk. How many youth games have you seen in which half the lineup doesn't swing the bat at all, even on pitches right down the middle?

In some youth games, I've often had to remind myself, "Just don't call the kid out on a horrible pitch."

I will freely admit that (with kids) the batters themselves have often influenced my calls. Kid swings at strike 1 and strike 2, and then starts to go but holds up on a pitch two balls outside. I'd probably call that pitch a ball. But if the kid didn't lift the bat off his shoulder on the first two pitches, it's strike 3.

It's erroneous to think that the perfect umpire would simulate an electronic, laser-enforced strike zone where every pitch is an absolute ball or strike. Even in MLB, there's some subjectivity involved, whether anyone would publicly admit that or not.

[LomUmp]

Hey all,

I am probably one of the VERY few that you will hear this from...DON'T CHANGE A THING!!

From my perspective, kids learn to hit, throw and catch. Nowhere do I say pitch. They don't learn to pitch until it is time for them to do so in a game sometime that week.

If you eexxppaanndd the stike zone, you are then teaching a little kid that a bad pitch can/will be called a strike. You are also teaching the little hitters that they had better swing at a bad pitch because that "ball" will probably be called a strike.

Make the pitchers learn how to pitch, and everyone will be better off later on. These are your future HS players, aren't they?

LomUmp

[PeteBooth]

It is not an umpires job to teach F1 how to pitch. That is the coaches job. Also, how is everyone better off if batter after batter simply keeps on walking.

Bottom Line that is why many do not umpire "kiddy ball".

Pete Booth

[tibear]

Originally Posted by LomUmp

Hey all,

I am probably one of the VERY few that you will hear this from...DON'T CHANGE A THING!!

From my perspective, kids learn to hit, throw and catch. Nowhere do I say pitch. They don't learn to pitch until it is time for them to do so in a game sometime that week.

If you eexxppaanndd the stike zone, you are then teaching a little kid that a bad pitch can/will be called a strike. You are also teaching the little hitters that they had better swing at a bad pitch because that "ball" will probably be called a strike.

Make the pitchers learn how to pitch, and everyone will be better off later on. These are your future HS players, aren't they?

LomUmp

I've never heard of such nonsense!!!

The little kids I've seen play would rather stand there and walk if they know 1 out of 6 pitches will actually be called a strike.

If you start out with a large strike zone and slower move it to the correct zone when they reach say 11, 12 and for some leagues even older then they learn how to hit, run and field the ball.

It doesn't make sense to have the smallest strikezone (players that are sometimes 4' 3" tall) for the worst pitchers (youngest players).

Get the kids swinging the bat when their young and everyone is happy, players, coaches, parents and umpires!!

[LMan]

Originally Posted by LomUmp

I am probably one of the VERY few that you will hear this from...

No lie there.