Strike Zone...

[UmpJM]

Originally Posted by canadaump6

Could you elaborate on "timing is the proper use of the eyes"?

Should there not be a consistent amount of time that passes between ball into mitt and call, or can it vary so long as you're not starting to call it before it hits the mitt?

canadaump6,

I think Jim Evans is wrong - well, his "point" isn't wrong, but how he says it is. Timing is not the "proper use of the eyes" - it's really the "proper use of the brain".

Making a call is a "decision" - which is a thought process. The eyes don't process thoughts, the brain does. The senses, primarily sight and sound, provide the information that the brain needs to process in order to make the decision required for a ruling in a baseball game.

Jim's "point" - which is absolutely correct, is that you have to allow the senses to give the brain ALL the available information it needs to render the decision, BEFORE starting the decision process.

In the case of deciding whether to call a pitch a ball or strike, the most important thing is to allow your eyes to track the pitch from the pitcher's hand all the way to his mitt. Once you have done that, then you start to decide whether the pitch was a ball or strike. Once you've decided, you let everybody else know what your decision was. That's what Jim Evans means when he says "timing is the proper use of the eyes" - or, perhaps I misunderstood him.

This "proper use of the eyes" is probably the single most important skill in being an umpire. It is deceptively simple in concept, and surprisingly difficult to master in practice - at least for me.

I believe that it is important for timing to be "consistent" - especially when calling balls and strikes. The "proper use of the eyes" also tends to result in "consistent" timing from one pitch to the next.

Inserting "artificial" pauses only distracts you from the task at hand - and really has nothing to do with timing.

JM