Assume a state championship LL 15 yr/-olds with a 9 run difference a <U>couple innings before the mercy rule</U> in in effect. Loser goes home.

Leading team throwing strikes and disciplined hitting of everything close. Losing team pitching all over the place but swinging at strikes.

Opening up the zone benefits the losing team, the fans and possibly the umpires, and it penalizes a well-coached, well-trained team that was having some fun.

Retaining the zone benefits prolongs the pain.

Unknowns:
Mental effect on both teams.
Substitute ringers or pitchers yet to enter.
A breakdown, or injury, of leading pitcher or key player.


I am seeking a philosophy, a common practice, a tradition that "real" umpires use.

I can live with a proper zone and bare the pain.

Thanks
mick

Mick,

Prolong the pain, live the proper zone. I do even in 10U.
Exactly why I don't get requests to do 10U. Changing the
zone makes the pitcher think what you are calling are strikes.
Batter, tho as you stated disciplined, might now go after
bad pitches knowing umpire is calling them strikes. The
game will end soon enough.

I agree with Glen. I TRY to stay away from calling bad strikes and If I do it on purpose it hurts me later.

I dont (try not to) change because of score and fight off any urge to do so.. I almost feel like they would know I was doing that and it would reflect badly on me.

Everyone is working hard (the winning team deserves theirs also) and its not up to me to even it out.

I'm not all over drama'd out on super duper morals and biblical worship of the *gasp* umpire code.. I just dont do it.

[Edited by wadeintothem on Apr 19th, 2005 at 09:59 PM]

No way. It's not fair to the hitters or the pitchers.

A strike zone is a strike zone.

Don't change the zone. Most batter’s already think the zone is to big and most pitcher's think it's to small. You should be consistent with your calls regardless of the score.

I agree keep the zone .
Hell I find it hard enough to get it right as it is without mucking myself up changing it every 1/2 innings .

Opening the Strike ZOne
 

In our area we do it all the time. Yesterday I am PU. Home team scores 14 runs BEFORE the visitors get an out. This is Varsity HS so there is no time limit. We are there till they play 5 innings. By the third inn. the home team coach is asking me to open it up against HER team. This coach also had her girls leaving too soon in order to get quicker outs. No one is having fun-remember the point of all this-the home team is bored-the visitors are frustrated and embarrassed and this is the third inng. i have no problem opening it up in games like this.

On these boards i can appreciate aiming for perfection, doing the best job possible, yada, yada. In the real world we are dealing with young people and all the things that come with being a young lady. You can call me what you want but I have a heart.

PS If I didn't open it up and everybody played their hardest we might be getting to the top of the 4th by now, 12 hours later. LOL

PPS In basketball officiating it is called game management.

[Edited by Chess Ref on Apr 20th, 2005 at 08:47 AM]

No way Im stretching the strike zone. There is only one thing I exagerate(sp) about and my wife is the only one who knows the real truth.

Unless both coaches came to me asking for something like that in a blowout, there's no circumstance where I'd change the zone DURING a game.

Now I AM a proponent of the slightly wider strikezone at lower levels, especially 10U (I even tell them at the plate conference, in hopes that I don't hear any more "Don't swing unless it's perfect" on 3-1 counts, etc).

But whereever that strikezone is at the beginning of the game, I do my best to keep it there at the end.

Devil's Advocate
 

Say the game has been going on for 3 hours. Both teams on done but because we need to play five innings we have to go on. One pitcher REALLY, REALLY is struggling. The score is something like 30-0 (had this one about a month ago), you are not going to change the strike zone from the one you started with. So now the sun goes down,top of the 4th, so you need to come back the next day to finish it. So the field needs to get prepped again, kids need to leave class early, transportation arranged etc. And the score is 30-0. No one wants to be there but you and your principled strike zone, you held firm and didn't change your strike zone. Ahem, lets really take this to the extreme, only one inning is played and sun goes down. So now you are on day three of this game but you held firm and and figuring in gas money you are now about to venture into taking a financial loss for holding firm on your strike zone. Everybody is PO ,the assigner is calling you and telling you to end this game. You let him know how principled you are about your strike zone. And you now wonder why you aren't getting any more games. LOL

It's called game management.

Re: Devil's Advocate
 

Nothing about this post is even remotely realistic. Any coach who is losing 30-0, and doesn't walk over to me at some point and concede, is an idiot. We have all had these marathon, one sided games. In everyone that I have had, I have had the coach come over and ask something along the lines of "how long do we have to keep playing?" At which point I tell them, "until the game is over or you concede, whichever comes first." Not one has waited to concede.

That's game management.

I agree with Scott.

Why should the umpire have to be the one that "creats" outs.
Not my job to manufactor outs or strikes. There are a lot of ways
coaches can handle this if the coach of the team getting beat by
bunches does not just say, "OK Blue, we have had enough."

Agree 100% with Skaht.

Re: Devil's Advocate
 

Shouldn't

1. Base your game on financial win, or loss.
2. Put up with an assignor who asks you to cheat.