Strike Zone...

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by blindofficial

As a newbie in baseball (going into my 3rd year) I get told that my strike zone is too tight.

If "everyone" is telling you this, then your zone likely *is* too tight for the area /level you are working.

While the specific advice you have been given is certainly wrong if taken to an extreme, it can provide some good direction on how to get your zone to be more acceptable.

[johnnyg08]

I've never seen those guidelines/unwritten rules before...they are interesting guidelines. Some of them are more advanced being that if you take them literally they'd likely get you in more trouble.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Calling the mitt on the high bender gets you in trouble if it clearly crosses the batter high. You can see that from the dugout.

[BigUmp56]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

Calling the mitt on the high bender gets you in trouble if it clearly crosses the batter high. You can see that from the dugout.

If a catcher sets up his mitt in an area directly back of the zone and the pitcher sticks it with a 12-6, I'm getting a strike. Every time...............


Tim.

[MajorDave]

12-6 curveball. I had three or four pitchers I coached who could throw a true 12-6. They were so nasty. Opposing coaches and players hated them. Some umpires that worked my games would not call a strike when it came through the zone unless the batter swung, which they often did. But it really hacked me off when they didn't call it.

I vowed that if and when I saw a good 12-6 as an umpire I would call it and that I would also call the back door curve ball when it nibbled on the corner.

I have called them, I do call them and I do not tolerate whining and *****ing from coaches and players who fall victim to them. I love good pitching and I call the tough pitches without remorse.

The biggest complaint against umpires working last year's NCAA regionals, super regionals and CWS was that they needed to call more strikes.

I have heard that before and I believe in calling strikes, even on the tough borderline pitches and even when the catcher butchers a good pitch that gets through the zone.

[SAump]

You'll find good catcher's frame the pitch and poor catchers bring everything back to the plate. Don't call the pitch for one team because one team has a good pitch-catch combo and the other doesn't. It will make a difference if one team is feeling squeezed.

Focus, track and call the location of the ball prior to being caught. You give them what you got. If you "miss" a pitch and hear disapproval, you can't fix it. Don't register the harping from a team. Don't fret over the "fairness" issue. Know why they're doing it.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by SAump

... Focus, track and call the location of the ball prior to being caught. You give them what you got.

I don't know about that; I track the ball all the way into the mitt before making the judgment, and then I make the call.