What is the official strike zone for a pitched ball?

[BretMan]

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Top of the zone/base of the sternum is about a 0.5-1 ball lower than shown IMO

Could be. Without X-ray vision it's kind of hard to pick out a random bone in the human body beneath flesh, muscle, clothing...but that's what the college rule says is the top of the zone.

By the way...this illustration isn't something that I cobbled together with Photoshop. It came straight from the NCAA rule book.

 

[Greenmonsters]

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Could be. Without X-ray vision it's kind of hard to pick out a random bone in the human body beneath flesh, muscle, clothing...but that's what the college rule says is the top of the zone.

By the way...this illustration isn't something that I cobbled together with Photoshop. It came straight from the NCAA rule book.

Agree and understood. Is it still recommended that you set your eyes at whatever you interpret to be the top of zone or is that not really feasible?

 

[WARRIORMIKE]

Whatever the ump calls.....

 

[MTR]

I would argue that there are RELATIVELY few umpires who have good enough judgement to call "the official" strike zone. And, it's been my experience that there are more umpires that call an smaller strike zone than there are ones that call a larger strike zone than the official one. Go figure.

It is my experience that people go crazy when umpires call "the official" strike zone because their Lil' Susie ALWAYS throws strikes and it must be the umpire's fault for squeezing her

 

[cuzmail]

It is my experience that people go crazy when umpires call "the official" strike zone because their Lil' Susie ALWAYS throws strikes and it must be the umpire's fault for squeezing her

It is my experience that people just want the umpire to establish the zone early (even during the pregame the coaches meeting) and be consistent for both teams and all batters. I think umpires like to make fun of pitcher's parents to ease the tension of not being able to call a consistent strike zone between batters and teams. It's easy to try and make it someone else's fault instead of admitting and correcting the problem yourself.

And yes as a pitchers parent I expect a strike to be the same for both pitchers. Just let us know where the zone is for this game and call them equally.

 

[00fpdaddy]

It is my experience that people go crazy when umpires call "the official" strike zone because their Lil' Susie ALWAYS throws strikes and it must be the umpire's fault for squeezing her

My experience is when the catcher sets up for an inside or outside strike and your lil susie fires the pitch and the catcher sits there waiting for the incoming missle and the GLOVE ABSOULTELY DOES NOT MOVE A MILLIMETER thats when people go crazy.

 

[MTR]

It is my experience that people just want the umpire to establish the zone early (even during the pregame the coaches meeting) and be consistent for both teams and all batters. I think umpires like to make fun of pitcher's parents to ease the tension of not being able to call a consistent strike zone between batters and teams. It's easy to try and make it someone else's fault instead of admitting and correcting the problem yourself.

And yes as a pitchers parent I expect a strike to be the same for both pitchers. Just let us know where the zone is for this game and call them equally.

I'm not making fun or a scapegoat of anyone. I'm stating an opinion of observation of over 48 years. And no intelligent umpire is going to tell you how s/he is going to call a game at a pre-game. It isn't possible. Every batter has a different strike zone and even that can change every time they come to the plate. And every pitch is different, so there is no way anyone can give you a reliable preview of the strike zone for that game.

For the same reasons, that is why the "that pitch was a strike for the other team" whine is just that. Just because two pitches are caught by the catcher in the same general area does not mean the pitches were both strikes/balls.

Then again, there are still the idiots (yes, now I am making fun of people) who believe where the ball hits the glove has anything to do with the strike zone.

 

[00fpdaddy]

^^^^^^I wish more umpire in our area would practice that, not where the ball ends up but where it crosses the plate

 

[cuzmail]

I'm not making fun or a scapegoat of anyone. I'm stating an opinion of observation of over 48 years. And no intelligent umpire is going to tell you how s/he is going to call a game at a pre-game. It isn't possible. Every batter has a different strike zone and even that can change every time they come to the plate. And every pitch is different, so there is no way anyone can give you a reliable preview of the strike zone for that game.

For the same reasons, that is why the "that pitch was a strike for the other team" whine is just that. Just because two pitches are caught by the catcher in the same general area does not mean the pitches were both strikes/balls.

Then again, there are still the idiots (yes, now I am making fun of people) who believe where the ball hits the glove has anything to do with the strike zone.

While I agree with most of what you said, I disagree with your statement about not explaining the strike zone. The size of the batter is irrelevant in that explanation unless the sternum, bellybutton, knees, ...etc are anatomically different between batters. Of course we all know that they will be at different heights due to size, but do we really need to explain that?

I have been told pregame what the zone would be and really appreciated the effort by the umpire. Seems so simple to me, but I guess I am a simple person. Tell me up front and do a good job adhering to what you say. The old say what you are going to do and do what you say works here. Will it be perfect? Of course not, but you shouldn't see a sternum area a strike for one batter and not for the next on a regular basis.

Still, I ask that the zone be consistent between batters and teams. I don't really care where the zone is just that it remains the same. That is all I ask and I really don't think it's too much to ask. I also can't see any argument where amything else would be accpetable and could be explained away as lil Suzie's parents being extreme.

Yes, I see your point about some people thinking the zone is anything that hits the glove. At 0-2 and usually at 1-2 you won't see the pitch in the zone with us or at least it isn't called in the zone but sometime it misses there . Anyway, there are extremes on both sides of the game like parents, umps, coaches, ..etc but that doesn't or shouldn't preclude explanation and calling a good game.

 

[Doug Romrell]

It is my experience that people go crazy when umpires call "the official" strike zone because their Lil' Susie ALWAYS throws strikes and it must be the umpire's fault for squeezing her

Varsity game yesterday....
My "Lil' Susie" didn't pitch...
I sat behind the back-stop with parents from our team and the other team....
The umpire's favorite strike was CLEARLY the inside pitch belly-button to top of shin...
Nothing on the outside 1/4 of the plate was a strike....
Nothing above the waist was a strike...
It was interesting how fans from both sides went "crazy" each time a strike came in that he didn't call...
This umpire's strike zone was no where near the official width. And, just below the knee to the belly-button is nowhere near the official height of the zone.

Whether you want to believe it or not, there are plenty of umpires out there who don't come close to calling the official strike zone...
They don't call the full width of it...
They don't call the full height of it.. Yes, I know the height of it varies according to batter height..

Whether it's the pitcher from the other team or my/our pitcher pitching, I've always wanted the full strike zone called. That might be because I like aggressive batters. It's also because I like fewer walks.
I LIKE THE STRIKE ZONE CALLED AS IT IS OFFICIALLY DESCRIBED, NOT HOW AN UMPIRE FEELS IT SHOULD BE.

Let me say again, as is the case in anything out there, just because an umpire has gone through all the training available doesn't mean he/she will necessarily have the proper ability to call a consistent official strike zone.