If you rewrote the FP pitching rule...

[Dakota]

Most of the umpires I know try to do a good job of calling the softball strike zone, although there is a definite "personal style" component. Within reason, I don't think this kind of variation will generate much controversy.

I do get a big internal (unvoiced on the web debates) chuckle out of coaches just barely in the double digits of games coached, just a year away from T-ball suddenly becoming experts in the strike zone and the "crow hop" - by which they usually mean leap. It is a rare 10U pitcher where either of these issues matters one whit.

Nonetheless, one productive change ASA might consider would be to better define what "in" the zone means. Since the umpire manual suggests (without saying directly) that "in" on the top and bottom means "the entire ball within the zone; and that on the inside and outside means "any part of the ball touching the zone" - why not just put that in the definition (rule 1)?