Gray Area Strikes

[btdt]

Have been contemplating the gray area for 2009.
At lower levels of baseball I call every strike I can resonably get.
As the talent level moves up, my strike zone tightens up.

High School Varsity
Pitch low in the strike zone that could be called either way. (Gray Area)
You want to be consistant so would you lean toward strikes or balls and why.

High in the strike zone?
Inside/Outside??

Before someone claims the strike zone is the strike zone, umpires are human and you have to decide what you just observed and your decision will be inaccurate at times.

[Kevin Finnerty]

I'm tight without trying. I've grown up as a hitter, and a hitting instructor and my son's a big slugger, so I've naturally developed into a hitter's umpire. I have heard guys who say they call the plate, plus the width of two balls on either side. I virtually always call only a strike a strike, and I don't care how long the game is. I know that at some of the higher levels, the pitchers expect a wider zone, and I hope not to make those guys throw too many pitches, but I take the strike zone seriously and I don't want to cheat 18 hitters.

High School varsity and above:

Corners: I call the ball that's scraping the black a strike. If the guy nails his spot a couple of inches off the corner (3 in. tops) and the catcher sticks it, it's a strike. Otherwise, I ball it.

Bottom: If the top of the ball appears to pass at the bottom of the guy's kneecap, I have a strike.

Top: If the bottom of the ball appears to scrape the top of the belt, I have a strike.

I also think I am a little less apt to have a strike on a high fastball than a high bender.

I do hear the C-word a hell of a lot: Consistent.

[MajorDave]

way of explaining it.

I subscribe to the same zone as Finnerty for high school varsity, legion and college.


I will move it up for younger players to just under the letters of the shirt (approximately one-half the distance between the armpits and the belt).

An NCAA D-1 head coach (SEC) (former pitching coach) and I discussed strike zones this fall during fall ball. He had asked the other umpires working to call any pitch that they had even the slightest bit of doubt about- a strike. He looked at me and said, you I don't need to ask you that. I considered it a complement. Of course he had seen me before and knew my philosophy.

Sometimes the college hitters early in the game will ask "is that as low as it gets?" when i call a lower end of the zone strike. I usually tell them if it is. If it isn't I will say "I'm not sure yet".

So far no complaints from anyone.

My opinion and advice-call everything that is close a strike and later in the game you don't have to call anything close as the batters become hitters and swing the bats. I usually have five or six called K3's in the first 3 or 4 innings of a game (both teams) and after that, rarely do I have to ring anyone up.

[Ump153]

Originally Posted by MajorDave

So far no complaints from anyone.

Really? None? Never? No one has ever complained about a strike or ball call, EVER?

You da man!!!!!

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by SAump

Moderator, why do you continue to bail these guys out of a gray area?

I write paragraph after paragraph. They pick one line up out of context and hammer away into the night. What added value do I get from a troll on the softball, baseball, football, and basketball board? ump153 continually misses a base and is allowed to score. I have the ball and appeal his continuous failure to re-touch a missed base.

You would think with all the contractual obligations, training, and MLB connections; they would have posted something of substance by now which SethPDX will most likely not-touch.

Maybe because you write paragraph after paragraph of nonsense, did you ever consider that? Hmmmmm???????

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by MajorDave

So far no complaints from anyone.

Wow, and I thought I was good!

[dash_riprock]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

Corners: I call the ball that's scraping the black a strike. If the guy nails his spot a couple of inches off the corner (3 in. tops) and the catcher sticks it, it's a strike. Otherwise, I ball it.

Bottom: If the top of the ball appears to pass at the bottom of the guy's kneecap, I have a strike.

Top: If the bottom of the ball appears to scrape the top of the belt, I have a strike.

I also think I am a little less apt to have a strike on a high fastball than a high bender.

I do hear the C-word a hell of a lot: Consistent.

I like it Kevin. I also try to ring up every pitch I consider borderline, unless F2 makes it look like a ball.

[Bob Bainter]

Originally Posted by dash_riprock

I like it Kevin. I also try to ring up every pitch I consider borderline, unless F2 makes it look like a ball.

Best piece of advice I ever heard in the minor leagues was from Dan Rohn, who was a manager in the Mariners organization...

"Nobody ever complains with an umpire who calls strikes...just the ones who say "ball" all the time..."

[tballump]

Originally Posted by Bob Bainter

Best piece of advice I ever heard in the minor leagues was from Dan Rohn, who was a manager in the Mariners organization...

"Nobody ever complains with an umpire who calls strikes...just the ones who say "ball" all the time..."

Don't believe I saw big Dan taking out any ads in the paper with his advice to you, backing up Eric Gregg (God rest his soul) when he was crucified for calling strikes in the 1997 playoffs. Also, I believe if you check an old web site that SDS once posted http.//cascreamindude.livejournal.com/ on a guy that keeps the records of all the MLBU ejections, you will not find too many ejections over umpires calling a pitch a ball. The majority of the ejections came over pitches that the umpire called a strike.

[SAump]

Originally Posted by tballump

... Also, I believe if you check an old web site that SDS once posted http.//cascreamindude.livejournal.com/ on a guy that keeps the records of all the MLBU ejections, you will not find too many ejections over umpires calling a pitch a ball. The majority of the ejections came over pitches that the umpire called a strike.

19 ejections were correctly called strikes and 9 ejections were correctly called balls.
16 ejections were incorrectly called strikes and 4 ejections were incorrectly called balls.

12 ejections were correctly called out and 6 ejections were correctly called safe.
4 ejections were incorrectly called out and 1 ejection was incorrectly called safe.

Data suggests that the offense is more than twice as likely to dispute a call without regard for right or wrong. This may suggest that an umpire is more than likely to err on the side of the defense which has less opportunity to gripe under original customs and traditions of the game. The defense is usually smart enough to let sleeping dogs lie. IOW, with the unflattering remarks coming from the bench area, the offense may also harvest what it has sown.

Gray area strikes: Read someone's comment about the data on perceived balls and strikes.
Yahoo! Image Detail for www.baseball.bornbybits.com/blog/uploaded_images/braun_strike-713066.gif
Rulebook strikes versus measured strikes data: The eye of the umpire -- The Hardball Times
What does combining all available sets of data suggest? The difficulty is making a few tough borderline decisions {having zero sum effect over time} at critical points in the game.

Some humor is needed here and meant to loosen everyone up.
Yahoo! Image Detail for static.flickr.com/1109/559009729_aa9263456c.jpg
If anyone should hit or miss a gray area strike, it should be a little swinging Alberto Pujols.

[tip184]

Originally Posted by tballump

Don't believe I saw big Dan taking out any ads in the paper with his advice to you, backing up Eric Gregg (God rest his soul) when he was crucified for calling strikes in the 1997 playoffs. Also, I believe if you check an old web site that SDS once posted http.//cascreamindude.livejournal.com/ on a guy that keeps the records of all the MLBU ejections, you will not find too many ejections over umpires calling a pitch a ball. The majority of the ejections came over pitches that the umpire called a strike.

I think there is a tendency for "balls" umpires to take a lot less heat over balls and strikes than "strikes" umpires. Part of this is because the pitcher is 60 feet 6 inches away. It's also easier to disregard a ball call that might have been in the zone than it is to disregard a strike call that may have been outside the zone.

[bossman72]

strikes baby!

[ozzy6900]

Every ball that leaves the pitcher's hand is a strike unless it proves itself to be otherwise!

[DonInKansas]

Originally Posted by ozzy6900

Every ball that leaves the pitcher's hand is a strike unless it proves itself to be otherwise!

Sounds good to me.

[Cub42]

Call strikes. Yes, be consistent, and don't get ridiculous, but call strikes. Don't think about being a hitter. Pause, Read, React. Your timing is the key.