Brett Lawrie throws helmet at Miller

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

I've never intentionally called that pitch a strike at any level above Jr./Sr. Little League. Not even in Frosh or JV would I call a pitch that high in the zone a strike. I guess it's all that good old NL training, but I've always favored the low pitch. This one looked to be letter high, which is where the vertical limit used to be, but is no longer. The mid-point between the belt and the letters is a good 3 or 4 inches lower than this pitch. I stand by my comment that Miller would have called a strike even if it were higher than the one he called.

As I said before, I call close pitches a strike anytime I can at any level. I just try to be consistent with them. Unlike the MLBers I do not have a computer telling me I am right or wrong. I want batters to swing and if a batter did what this guy did, I would have called a close pitch a strike too. Not so much of an FU pitch, but at least stay there for me to make the call. I would do the same if a batter bails out on a pitch that clearly is close. It would not be so much of an FU call, but you should not be assuming I am going to call a ball when it is close. Swing the damn bat and you will not have to worry about what I call.

Peace