Gerry Davis still not good ASA/USA

[bigdogtx]

I've had two recent tournaments and ended up doing the championship games. had several parents and 3 coaches tell me I had the most consistent strike zone of all the umpires they saw those weekends.

As I am getting more comfortable with the setup and my timing per ASA, I have gained a ton of confidence and I feel I hardly miss ANY pitch. I will use it in an ASA National and see if I get critiqued by the seasoned (old) guard.

[teebob21]

Big Dog, what national did you get?

Edit: 2 months ago, I did not fully appreciate how true Steve's comment was, so I will repost it:

It seems to me that if you get your head where it needs to be for optimal judgment (eyes top of zone, nose on the batter's box line, and far enough forward to be looking across the plate), then no association or sanction should be concerned with how the rest of your body is configured.

Words to live by. We call strikes with our eyes and brain. Both reside in your head. Get the head in the right place and the rest will naturally follow.

[bigdogtx]

Originally Posted by teebob21

Big Dog, what national did you get?

Edit: 2 months ago, I did not fully appreciate how true Steve's comment was, so I will repost it:



Words to live by. We call strikes with our eyes and brain. Both reside in your head. Get the head in the right place and the rest will naturally follow.

The USA/ASA 12u here in Dallas.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by teebob21

Big Dog, what national did you get?

Edit: 2 months ago, I did not fully appreciate how true Steve's comment was, so I will repost it:



Words to live by. We call strikes with our eyes and brain. Both reside in your head. Get the head in the right place and the rest will naturally follow.

Absolutely agree. But I think the concern is what could happen. Not everyone can follow directions and get their head in the right place. Some umpires get very comfortable in their stance and that is a great place to be. Unfortunately, some get too comfortable in a certain stance and lose track of the fact their head isn't where it is supposed to be. IOW, I believe there is a train of thought that some will put the stance above the priority of getting a good look at the strike zone. IMO, those are the umpires who need to be corrected.

If you get the opportunity this summer, watch whatever youth baseball and softball you can on TV. Many of these guys/gals will look good behind the plate, but I'm willing to bet there will be some not at the top of the zone nor lined up on the inside edge of the plate. And it isn't just those using a GD stance. If nothing else, you need to give USA points for consistency.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Absolutely agree. But I think the concern is what could happen. Not everyone can follow directions and get their head in the right place. Some umpires get very comfortable in their stance and that is a great place to be. Unfortunately, some get too comfortable in a certain stance and lose track of the fact their head isn't where it is supposed to be. IOW, I believe there is a train of thought that some will put the stance above the priority of getting a good look at the strike zone. IMO, those are the umpires who need to be corrected.



If you get the opportunity this summer, watch whatever youth baseball and softball you can on TV. Many of these guys/gals will look good behind the plate, but I'm willing to bet there will be some not at the top of the zone nor lined up on the inside edge of the plate. And it isn't just those using a GD stance. If nothing else, you need to give USA points for consistency.

This must be one of those softball-only concepts.

I have no desire to get down to the top of the zone. I want to be locked at the same spot for every batter, head just above the top of the catcher's helmet.

I don't need my eyes there to know where it is. Just like the outside corner or the knee.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by Rich

This must be one of those softball-only concepts.

I have no desire to get down to the top of the zone. I want to be locked at the same spot for every batter, head just above the top of the catcher's helmet.

Even when I started in baseball in 1966, it was the top of the zone.

I don't need my eyes there to know where it is. Just like the outside corner or the knee.

So you can call the game with your eyes closed?

[Rich]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Even when I started in baseball in 1966, it was the top of the zone.







So you can call the game with your eyes closed?

Things change.

What's more important now is that you lock in comsistently for every batter.

Your final comment is just silly. I don't put my eyes at the knees or outside corner and I can still call those. You know that's what I meant.

[CecilOne]

I once experimented, BRIEFLY, with moving back a couple of steps to be the same distance from the plate regardless of catcher.

BRIEFLY

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by Rich

This must be one of those softball-only concepts.

I have no desire to get down to the top of the zone. I want to be locked at the same spot for every batter, head just above the top of the catcher's helmet.

I don't need my eyes there to know where it is. Just like the outside corner or the knee.

Don't know why softball wants our eyes at the top of the zone. I thought maybe it was to judge the rise ball better, which you don't see in baseball. But most rise ball pitches are way above the zone as batters swing at pitches that the catcher virtually has to stand upright to catch.

To this day (ten years after switching from baseball), I still get the occasional critique that I'm setting up too high, but I feel I can judge the pitches at the top of the zone just fine. And most good softball pitchers are going after the corners at the knees, so I don't get to judge too many pitches at top of the zone to begin with.

[Colo Blue]

What gets me is, the CCA manual and instructors tell you to set your head height no higher than the top of the strike zone, and your chin should be no lower than the top of the catcher's helmet. That only works when you have a tall batter and a small catcher.

[teebob21]

Originally Posted by Colo Blue

What gets me is, the CCA manual and instructors tell you to set your head height no higher than the top of the strike zone, and your chin should be no lower than the top of the catcher's helmet. That only works when you have a tall batter and a small catcher.

I got gigged for being too low at camp. The way it was explained to me was that the first "stop sign" is the top of the catcher's head: never go lower. If you CAN get down to the top of the zone, stop there.

[Tru_in_Blu]

Originally Posted by Manny A

And most good softball pitchers are going after the corners at the knees, so I don't get to judge too many pitches at top of the zone to begin with.

The majority of good softball pitchers will pitch to their strength and/or the situation as the game dictates. For many of them, that may not include corners at the knees.

When I pitched, I worked the top of the zone with a lazy rise/curve ball. I wasn't good enough to spin it fast enough to get a pure rise with lots of movement.

Tie game, late inning, runner on first with no outs, most coaches will have batters other than 3 through 5 bunting. This typically calls for the pitcher to throw to the top of the zone to try to induce a pop up.

Slow batter runner at bat with a runner on first base would call for drop balls to try and get the ground ball for a chance at a double play.

Not all pitchers can command every type of pitch. They're probably comfortable with their fastball and one other pitch that moves, and maybe 7% of the time, a change up.

Even HS varsity pitchers aren't all accomplished hurlers. Every once in a while I come across one that has electric "stuff". It's a work in progress for most. A few years back, the pitching distance was changed from 40 to 43 feet. I think part of that was due to simply speed. Good fastball pitchers were dominating the game. When the distance was pushed back, I think dominant pitchers now need a mix of speed and ball movement.

[CecilOne]

I follow the toe-heel, squat in the slot, eyes at top of zone adjusted for batter. I don't get complaints, just a few ooohs and groans in the course of a game.
Yes, the top of the zone is often the question, pitchers and coaches wanting neck and shoulder strikes, which I can see clearly from the correct height.



Like the old line: Coach, I looked all over the strike zone and couldn't find it.