Neighborhood Play

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by rei

Good point!

Just want to check. Are you one of those guys that won't call a curve ball caught at the belt? What about the fastball at the letters. BOTH are for sure strikes that few call, even though NCAA and NFHS wants these to be called strikes.

I call the high strike. It is hittable, and hittable for POWER! The low crap is bad for quick games. The angle the ball comes off the bat means a lot of hooks and spins, which means bad fielding.

So, shall we just call the WHOLE strike zone? LOL Nobody is going to do that, except in Little League.

I hate to break it to you, I call the entire strike zone as my judgment can call it and I have very little if any problems. I also have not worked a LL game since 1998 and I have not had any major problems.

I think we worry too much as umpires what people are going to think. I agree on some level that we should call the game a certain way, but calling balls and strikes, out and safe calls are some of the easiest things you can do because you have one call or the other. And the last time I checked there was not instant replay on some dirt patch they call a baseball field at the level most of us work. Even if you work a D1 game there are not many cameras or some fancy software to determine if you are an inch off the plate or if the 3rd cleat in the middle was on the base or not. In baseball is more about consistency and if a player cannot make a routine play, then you have to decide if they deserve what they earned. I have never had a problem calling the game the way I do and it certainly has not hurt my career. And I can guarantee you I have also not tried as hard as most people here seem to do.

Peace