Gray Area Strikes

[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!