CWS plate umpire saying pitch location?

[MD Longhorn]

Assuming the catcher's not setting up in a weird spot - in/out is usually pretty easy to see from A, C, or either coaches dugouts. Watch the glove.

[bob jenkins]

"usually" being the operative word. Coaches also don't ask "usually".

When the catcher is on the corner, and the pitch is "close" you can't really tell.

And, yes, sometimes they are asking to make a point. Answering ahead of time can help stop them from doing that.

[scrounge]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

Assuming the catcher's not setting up in a weird spot - in/out is usually pretty easy to see from A, C, or either coaches dugouts. Watch the glove.

Plenty of times, a catcher sets up 6 inches or more outside (0-2 counts, etc), the pitcher hits the spot, catcher doesn't move the glove at all. From the side, looks like a strike, but still well outside.

[johnnyg08]

Originally Posted by scrounge

Plenty of times, a catcher sets up 6 inches or more outside (0-2 counts, etc), the pitcher hits the spot, catcher doesn't move the glove at all. From the side, looks like a strike, but still well outside.

Exactly.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

Assuming the catcher's not setting up in a weird spot - in/out is usually pretty easy to see from A, C, or either coaches dugouts. Watch the glove.

Years ago, I'd do what everyone else did -- punish the catcher that set up outside and then reached over to catch the pitch on the plate.

I don't do that anymore. I don't throw away strikes, not even in college games. So reading catchers isn't sufficient to tell a coach if a pitch is in or out.

Besides, a lot of guys set up 6 inches off and the pitcher dutifully puts it there. Doesn't make it a strike, regardless of how pretty it looks from the dugout.

[MD Longhorn]

I never implied one should call pitches based on where the catcher was. Not at all. The catcher is irrelevant to my call.

What I said was that in the vast majority of the cases, an umpire in A or C, or a coach near any dugout, can easily see the difference between an inside pitch or an outside pitch based on the movements of the catcher. They are not stupid - they KNOW why it was a ball (with the exception of a pitch near a corner that I mentioned earlier). They are asking so they can be rats - that's all they're doing.