Tricks for Timing
 

Are there any tricks some of you wiley old vets of this forum use to improve and help keep consistant your timing while calling balls and strikes?

I don't mean the old "read the mitt logo" either. I'm looking for something you use that may be unique.

Thanks,

Tim.

Basically I use what I like to call the "two second" rule. Ball crosses plate, ball goes into mitt, wait two seconds, make the call. What also helps me tremendously is that I use the GD stance.

I literally make the call in my head...

Thats a ball... BALL

Thats a strike... STRIKE

Timing is the...

Oh, never mind. It wouldn't do any good.

......proper use of the eyes.......:rolleyes:

This is age dependent. I have a notebook full for under 12s.

Two real seconds or two short pauses?

that isnt timing

...but anyways, 2 seconds seems too long to wait anyways.

Two short pauses.

Timing tricks are bogus, and newer umps should learn the proper use of the eyes instead.

Timing is not about time
 

There are no tricks for timing. Timing is not about time...period. Timing is, as has been written above, about proper use of eyes. If you use your eyes properly you can not have bad timing, it's not possible. The point of timing is to make sure you are making proper calls, counting to two, chewing your gum twice, reading the label on the mitt, holding your pants, pinching your arm, or sticking a stick in your eye will not help you get calls right.

Bottom line -- there are no tricks!

I simply think either strike or ball then make the call. In the process, I visualize the pitch again. It's pretty much like seeing a play on the bases: See it, see it again in your head, call it!

For the most part if you have 2 good F1's around the plate = a good plate performance. It's difficult to have any kind of good timing etc. when F1 is 'all over the place" then all of a sudden "paints the corner"

Jon Bible gave excellent advice about the strike zone.

1. Every Pitch is a strike until proven otherwise

2. Treat the strike zone like a "window" If the ball is in the window = strike


Pete Booth

Were you at my game on Friday night?

The starting pitcher for the visitors was all over the place and when he wasn't walking batters he was serving up belt high fastballs that were either bobbled, booted, thrown away or not fielded due to lack of any sort of effort by his teammates.

10-1 after 2
17-4 final after 4 1/2

I've always said it's games like this where you earn your money.

this is exactly what a current major league umpire told us at one of our local meetings when he came to talk to us about mechanics. he said use "thats a" and then make the call.