home plate

[kono]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by coachz
just to clarify, on the subject of the high strikes, our girls stand way back in the box because they aren't used to the pitching we saw in these tournaments(it's just a rec league all-star team) and these girls are throwing HARD.

Dakota's right - strike/ball are determined by the location of the ball when it crossed the plate, not where your batter is standing. Also, within a couple of years, these same pitchers are going to be throwing pitches with a lot of movement on them. Your batters in the back of the box won't stand a chance on pitches that break on/before the plate.

It's definitely not like slow pitch where the ball arcs through the zone.

I see way too many of these in LL fastpitch games.

I was amazed at the skills of some of the pitchers! I felt for the umps too because alot of the catchers were not up to stopping a lot of the pitches.

That's why we have shin guards, chest protectors, face masks, and plate shoes. Any plate umpire at any level of fastpitch without this gear doesn't need sympathy - he/she needs a shrink.

-Kono