Pitcher's Umpire

[DaveASA/FED]

Originally Posted by ASA/NYSSOBLUE

Finally they ask 'The ball is 12 inches in diameter, right?' And everybody nods.

Did everyone nod NO? The ball is 11" in circumference, not diameter. Which gives you about 3.5" diameter. So the plate is about 29" wide 21 you mentioned + 4" (I'll round up) on each side!

[ASA/NYSSOBLUE]

Originally Posted by DaveASA/FED

Did everyone nod NO? The ball is 11" in circumference, not diameter. Which gives you about 3.5" diameter. So the plate is about 29" wide 21 you mentioned + 4" (I'll round up) on each side!

ooops :P

[marvin]

tcannizzo,

Your zone does not sound like a pitcher's zone to me, especially the bottom (you wrote, "Bottom of ball at Top of Knee") unless you mean any part of the ball above the top of the knee (which is the rule in NFHS).

Don't most ruling bodies play fastpitch with a 12 inch circumference ball (3.83 inch diameter), not 11 inch (3.5 inch diameter)?

Here is a picture cropped from the diagram of the strike zone in the NCAA book:



The biggest difference between NCAA and other rule sets is that at the top of the zone the entire ball has to be below the limit designated by the definition of the top of the strike zone. NCAA also defines the top of the zone as "bottom of the batter’s sternum" while NFHS defines it as "the batter's forward armpit".

I used to think I was a pitcher's umpire because I tried to call every pitch that met the rule book definition of a strike a strike. Then I saw guys that call balls an entire ball width below the knees or a ball that was 6 inches outside strikes (closet part of ball is six inches from plate). So I no longer think that and I no longer care. I just try to "call it by the book".

[tcannizzo]

Don't get me wrong, I don't go in there saying that I am the pitcher's friend. This thought occurred to me a while back, and then this past weekend, one of the more experienced coaches in our area were discussing it, and he said he thought that I was a pitcher's umpire. This is what inspired me to toss it out here for discussion.

Most of the replies have been about "me", which is fair game. Was hoping to hear what more felt about themselves and others. But it is a good thread.