Strike Zone

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally posted by greymule
Does someone have to raise an issue prior to me making a statement?

Of course not, but when your statement is part of a 5-segment critique of my post, I assume it to be related to something I wrote. Apparently it wasn't.

You concur that there is regional variation in the way umpires call strikes. Which region's umpires have set the standard for the rest of us?

I don't think I critiqued your post. I actually took you observations a step further and basically agreed with most of what you stated.

I have no idea if any region sets a standard though I would like to think the umpires in DE are awfully close to what is expected by ASA. But, then again, that is a very prejudiced and self-serving statement on my behalf. I would think that all State/Metro UICs hold the same opinion of umpires in their area.

[DownTownTonyBrown]

Hope you got some good information from all of this. Call YOUR strike zone.

As several have noted, where the ball lands is inconsequential. A pitch with a lot of arch can land 2 - 2-1/2 feet behind the plate and still come down a foot behind the batter's shoulder - hence the common, and incorrect, term "deep." When the pitch went past the plate it was above the batter's strike zone - BALL.

The arch of a the pitch has a lot to do with where it might land after crossing the plate. As described above, a tall arched pitch has got to land pretty close to the plate to have gone through the strike zone. On the contrary, a pitch that barely rises above the batter's head can cross the batter's waist and be caught two feet in the air by the catcher. It went through the zone and is therefore a strike. Location of where the ball hits is superfluous.

Stick to your guns and recognize that you call the strikes - not the catcher, not the pitcher, not the batter, not the idiot bystanders... just you. Invariably, you will have to put up with the occasional dork that wants to question your calls... ignore them and smile. They will eventually get the picture or you can eject them. Just smile to begin with "Na. It looked pretty good to me." Be in charge.

[rwest]

Hey gang,

Thanks for the input. One clarification. Someone mentioned that the ball had to cross the mitre to be a strike. Well, the rule book, on page 56, actually describes the strike zone as follows:

When a batter assumes a natural batting stance adjacent to home plate, the strike zone is that space over any part of home plate between the batter's:

A. (Fast Pitch Only) Arm pits and the top of the knees.
B. (Slow Pitch Only) Back shoulder and the front knee.

So, if you take the rule book literally, then the ball the just nicks the front corner within a legal arch is a strike.

What say you....

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally posted by rwest
Hey gang,

Thanks for the input. One clarification. Someone mentioned that the ball had to cross the mitre to be a strike. Well, the rule book, on page 56, actually describes the strike zone as follows:

When a batter assumes a natural batting stance adjacent to home plate, the strike zone is that space over any part of home plate between the batter's:

A. (Fast Pitch Only) Arm pits and the top of the knees.
B. (Slow Pitch Only) Back shoulder and the front knee.

So, if you take the rule book literally, then the ball the just nicks the front corner within a legal arch is a strike.

What say you....

If you take the rule book literally, then you will notice that unless the batter has no legs below his/her knees, there is no way a ball just nicking the front corner of the plate cleared the batter's front knee as they were standing adjacent to the plate.

Call the entire strike zone simultaneously, not just a piece at a time

[rwest]

So, what you are saying is that the ball has to cross the front knee to be a strike and that a pitch nicking the corner is not going to cross the knee. But, in your opinion, does the ball have to cross the back corner? Can the ball cross over the plate and land to the side half way back, not crossing the back corner and still be a strike?

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally posted by rwest
So, what you are saying is that the ball has to cross the front knee to be a strike and that a pitch nicking the corner is not going to cross the knee. But, in your opinion, does the ball have to cross the back corner? Can the ball cross over the plate and land to the side half way back, not crossing the back corner and still be a strike?

I have seen it done, but the pitch was marginally legal high and the batter about 5'2".

A note though, at the level where stealing is allowed, any ball which does not reach the back corners of the plate is to be ruled dead. This is basically affirming that the ball did not "pass" the plate. Using that as a guideline, if no part of the ball gets pass the back corners, it will usually be a "ball".