strike zone

[Dakota]

A few random thoughts...

o For the work-a-day JO umpire, discussing the nuances of the zone and rewarding the pitcher for consistently hitting the corners at 10U is, well if not silly, at least far-fetched.

o At 10U, I call a wide zone, but it has absolutely nothing to do with rewarding the pitcher for her control, if you get my drift.

o 1.5 balls off the plate is a considerably wider zone in softball than in baseball.

o If you actually do have a 10U pitcher who has good enough control and ball movement to actually be concerned with finding the corners that the umpire is giving, you don't have to worry about the zone for her to dominate.

o With outstanding upper level (16 & 18U - I don't do college) pitchers, I will reward them for outstanding control and placement by concentrating on tracking the pitch and calling a strike a strike. If her control is that good, she doesn't need any ball and a half help. Just calling the zone as accurately as possible gives her a 27 inch wide zone, as Rick already noted. That's wide enough.

o MLB is trying to crack down on the reputation call, although some believe it has more to do with controlling the umpires than anything else.