Blue's opinion on pitch framing

[bniu]

Originally Posted by argodad

I like to call strikes. I think most of us do. A good catcher "frames" the borderline pitch by turning the pocket of her mitt toward the strike zone. That makes the pitch look maybe a hair better than it was -- and if I do think it was a strike, that helps me. A bad catcher thinks framing a pitch means moving the glove into the zone. As others have said, this just tells me that she didn't think it was a strike either.

Regarding timing, I think you'll find the better plate umpires have a nice consistent delay from the time the pitch hits the glove until they give their verbal call. That gives us time to make the decision on a borderline pitch without an obvious change in rhythm. If your timing changes, you will hear it from whichever side didn't get the call. My first mentor would tap his thigh twice before making the call. SNAP! ... tap ... tap ... STRIKE! (except he pronounced it "HAAWW!")

I don't mind the catcher making a borderline one look like a strike, I like calling strikes, gets the batters to swing the bats, and make the game go by quicker. As for framing, glove still, catch the ball in the outer part of the glove sticking just out of the zone, and holding the ball there for a sec, is fine by me. They won't get the call if I can tell they're moving their arm trying to buy a strike. A funny moment once when the catcher tried to frame the pitch, he wasn't even framing it in the strike zone, it was at least a few inches outside. When he asked me what was wrong with it, I told him: "first off, you're not even framing it in the strike zone", got a chuckle from both the catcher and the batter.