Can I vent?. . . and then get opinions

[BretMan]

It's not a good practice to "explain" your strike zone to the coaches at the plate conference. In a typical rec-league slow pitch game, I can imagine that this won't cause you much grief. But as you advance to higer levels, there is a downside.

Give an explanation other than one that exactly matches the rule book definition and you can give the impression that you either don't know the rules or choose to ignore them. Your credibility takes a hit.

Lay out a detailed explanation or "your" zone and you have pidgeon-holed yourself for the entire game. What happens if you call a pitch just a hair out of the zone you described? Your judgement is now suspect, along with your integrity- "But, Blue, you told us that would be a ball!".

I'm not sure what the group here would say is the "best" answer when asked about your strike zone before the game. I usually give some rote answer like, "The strike zone described in the rule book".

I did try a different approach a few weeks ago. At the plate conference, after introductions, line-ups and ground rules, one coach asked what my strike zone was going to be.

I gave him a little smile and said, "You're about to find out in two minutes".

His jaw dropped and he gave me a deer-in-the-headlights stare, then finally mumbled "okay". Didn't hear a peep from him about the strike zone all night.