Adjustments?

[clev1967]

Only serious replies please.
What kind of adjustments to your positioning do you make behind the plate on a batter crowding the plate and a catcher setting up inside?

[Dakota]

I raise up more to clear the catcher's head and move out more over the plate until I have a clear view.

[HugoTafurst]

Originally Posted by Dakota

I raise up more to clear the catcher's head and move out more over the plate until I have a clear view.

Pretty much the same here.
I adjust as I can up a little and over.

I have to admit that sometimes I will not move so much that I can see the actual realease of the ball.
I'm not sure how incorrect that is, but I don't feel comfortable getting too far from my normal slot.

Having said that, I am still always in a position where I can pick up the ball in front of the plate, see the plate and see the ball into the glove.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by clev1967

Only serious replies please.
What kind of adjustments to your positioning do you make behind the plate on a batter crowding the plate and a catcher setting up inside?

There are two trains of thought.

One is, as noted, to stay the slot and move up, sacrificing the bottom of the zone. This is an obvious move when the catcher moves on the pitch.

Another is, when time permits, to move inside off the plate and sacrifice the outside.

[KJUmp]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

There are two trains of thought.

One is, as noted, to stay the slot and move up, sacrificing the bottom of the zone. This is an obvious move when the catcher moves on the pitch.

Another is, when time permits, to move inside off the plate and sacrifice the outside.

Mike...your thoughts (an those of others, please), on sacrificing the outside corner. I've been struggling a bit myself with the same sitch in the OP. I'm not at all questioning the move to inside off the plate, it's another option to utilize for sure.

Not intending to hijack the thread, but I guess my question for everyone is, do you personally (when having to make any adjustment behind the plate) feel more comfortable, particularly at the higher levels, sacrificing the bottom of the zone or the outside corner? Upsides/downsides (aside from the obvious one) in the choice you make. I (we) all realize there is no right/wrong answer...it's a matter of personal preference, confidence/comfort level and experience.

[Andy]

I would rather sacrifice the bottom of the zone. If a catcher is blocking me out where I have to adjust, any borderline pitches become balls. If it's the batter, they are strikes. If the catcher asks, I will tell her I can't get a good look because she is blocking me and forcing me to adjust to a position where I may not be able to see the whole zone as well as I would like.

I won't tell a catcher where to set up, just the potential results if she sets up in certain spots. One of the best phrases I ever heard to tell a catcher was...Catch, help me call strikes!

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by Andy

I would rather sacrifice the bottom of the zone. If a catcher is blocking me out where I have to adjust, any borderline pitches become balls. If it's the batter, they are strikes. If the catcher asks, I will tell her I can't get a good look because she is blocking me and forcing me to adjust to a position where I may not be able to see the whole zone as well as I would like.

I won't tell a catcher where to set up, just the potential results if she sets up in certain spots. One of the best phrases I ever heard to tell a catcher was...Catch, help me call strikes!

I used to use (and teach) that method, but it has been made clear in NCAA, at least, that we are expected and required to adjust, that we cannot tell the catcher she is blocking us on a consistent basis. Telling an NCAA D1 catcher (or coach; she will tell the coach immediately) that is an almost instant way to resign from that conference, is my observation.

So, my response and reaction is a definitive "it depends". I do not wish to give up my slot, and the consistency on the corners I want it to give me (or help me, if I am struggling). I strive for a true and full corner plus river, both sides of the plate, and am willing to be considered to have missed a pitch up or down, but not in or out.

If the catcher is shifting and crowding, I will set up higher, only, so as to not lose the corners, and attempt to adjust the bottom of the zone as best I can (that is, after all, one of the judgments necessary based on the varying batter sizes, anyway, and isn't ever as locked in as the corners).

If it is the batter crowding the plate and hanging over, I prefer to keep my feet where they belong, and lean a little early to pick up the pitch, and work back to my standard location during the pitch, so the pitch doesn't "explode" on me at the plate. I can assure you that if the batter is crowding, and the inside pitch doesn't hit her, and is appropriate height-wise, it is a called strike, even if it is a bit further in than the actual corner!!

In ball less defined than top level NCAA, I will stretch that inside corner (when I can) to keep the batters off the plate. But, can't do it in NCAA D1, and certainly many batters will NOT back off, would rather turn into the pitch that misses the exact corner inside for the free base.

That's just me, and how I handle the various causes.

[Steve M]

I tend to move up - and maybe lean just a little as Steve said. I try not to give up my slot position. AND, when I do have to adjust my position at all, I also tend to slow down just a bit more - just to make sure the timing is impecable.

[robbie]

Originally Posted by AtlUmpSteve

So, my response and reaction is a definitive "it depends". I do not wish to give up my slot, and the consistency on the corners I want it to give me (or help me, if I am struggling). I strive for a true and full corner plus river, both sides of the plate, and am willing to be considered to have missed a pitch up or down, but not in or out.

My bold, not Steve's...

Interesting comment from this perspective:

Assuming no video, only you and the catcher really know if the pitch was over the plate or not. However, everyone in the park can tell the relative height of the pitch.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by KJUmp

Mike...your thoughts (an those of others, please), on sacrificing the outside corner. I've been struggling a bit myself with the same sitch in the OP. I'm not at all questioning the move to inside off the plate, it's another option to utilize for sure.

Not intending to hijack the thread, but I guess my question for everyone is, do you personally (when having to make any adjustment behind the plate) feel more comfortable, particularly at the higher levels, sacrificing the bottom of the zone or the outside corner? Upsides/downsides (aside from the obvious one) in the choice you make. I (we) all realize there is no right/wrong answer...it's a matter of personal preference, confidence/comfort level and experience.

Sacrificing the outside is an assumption, but if you are trained and work from one position, any rare movement to an alternative position would most likely, IMO, cause some type of mental realignment which I don't think can be consistent.

I have a suspicion that this sneaked in from baseball where I believe the catcher's movement is restricted by a smaller catcher's box.

[clev1967]

Thanks to all of the posts so far, it is nice to have a serious helpful conversation.
Replies are kind of what I expected, each has their own way of dealing with being "squeezed" and no one way is a surefire solution.
Personally, I stay in and get a little lower- under the batters hands and feel I can see the pitch sooner this way. Not sure it is the best but has been most comfortable for me so far. I have not tried to go over the top of the catcher but will when I have a chance. Always felt like I would be a sitting duck that way.