Zen and the Art of Strike Zone Maintenance (part 1)

There have been quite a few threads recently about the strike zone and about what makes a “good umpire”. In light of a recent conversation I had with another denizen of this forum, who said it would be better to try to keep threads more focused than I can tend to do, I would like to start a series of related discussions about what reasonable expectations are when it comes to these two things.

The first question is, how many pitches, from the defensive team's HC/pitcher's viewpoint, is an acceptable number for an umpire to 'miss', that includes not only pitches that are flat out missed, but also pitches that the HC/pitcher THINK the umpire missed, regardless of where it actually was. The reason I am choosing to look at it from the defensive viewpoint is that the pitcher and umpire often have the same goal, call/throw strikes.

So what is the number of pitches that go against your pitcher that you find acceptable for there to be a difference of opinion on in a complete 7 inning game and you still feel the umpire did an above average job of calling balls and strikes?





In follow up threads we will get to other parts of the equation, but let's start here.

EdLovrich said:

in a complete 7 inning game

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7 innings??!?! I thought that was something only leprechauns and unicorns got to play? #Still@12U

For me (and probably most of us?), consistency is #1 for B/S. Unlike 99% of the parents in the stands, I realize I have no idea how far inside or outside a pitch is, but do let how the catcher is receiving it to influence any verbal reaction pitch to pitch.

If you're really looking for #'s - 2 missed pitches that DON'T get called both ways will get me to start grumbling to the other coaches. Around 4 or more and I can see myself reminding the HPU to at least be consistent. Or, if I otherwise feel like he's a good umpire, I may ask b/w innings where some of those pitches are missing. Again - I'm 12U - not every catcher is comfortable having those conversations with the umpires just yet.

And while you didn't ask it yet - I'd prefer an ump who didn't call a high strike - most girls couldn't hit a ball at their chin level if you placed it on a tee. It's should be a 'strike' when it's in a location where you have a reasonable chance of 'striking' the ball. I figure that's why it's called a 'strike zone' to begin with?

Gags said:

And while you didn't ask it yet - I'd prefer an ump who didn't call a high strike -

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We will get to that part of the equation in a future installment!

it's not about missed pitches, it's about being consistent with the strike zone for both teams.

Seen umps that seem to be the constant state of make up calls. By the 5 inning he calling strike 8 inches off the plate.

cvsoftball said:

it's not about missed pitches, it's about being consistent with the strike zone for both teams.

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Expecting people being paid $10.00 an hour to call a strike zone like a $200,000 per year MLB umpire is insane.

At TB, HS and college level, It is all about consistency. The pitchers must learn to deal with whatever strike zone the umpire has.

Ok, there seems to be a consensus that an umpire's zone needs to be consistent from first pitch to last (I should have stated that at the start). With that as a condition, that the zone is not going to change throughout a game, how many missed pitches would you consider an acceptable number before you start to think that an umpire is not above average.

EdLovrich said:

Ok, there seems to be a consensus that an umpire's zone needs to be consistent from first pitch to last (I should have stated that at the start). With that as a condition, that the zone is not going to change throughout a game, how many missed pitches would you consider an acceptable number before you start to think that an umpire is not above average.

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Whats your answer to your question?

How many pitches do you think you get wrong in a game?
Examples
Say atleast 1 pitch per inning for both teams? Or #?
1 pitch out of 20?

RADcatcher said:

Whats your answer to your question?

How many pitches do you think you get wrong in a game?
Examples
Say atleast 1 pitch per inning for both teams? Or #?
1 pitch out of 20?

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My goal is to miss less than 1 clear strike per 20+ games. The way to do that is to give a good solid zone. The zone is really not that small.

On marginal pitches, working hard to focus on corners and edges to call strikes when they cross the plate as a strike, but frankly in terms of coaches being upset with these calls, if you are getting the big ones right, you will get some leeway on the really close ones especially in and out (up and down not so much).

Also you think of every pitch as a strike until it isn't - that mentality really helps on the close calls. The pitch has to convince me it isn't a strike - not that it isn't a ball.

This goes to back to the whole "Don't make blatant or obvious mistakes."

If I end a game and honestly feel that I would like to see 4 or fewer pitches again, I have had a solid day at the plate. So, on overage that breaks down to 2 per team. I was going to wait to do the math, but I will put that number (4 per game) into perspective now.

There are approximately 220-260 pitches per game, let's split the middle and call it 240 (some estimates are nearly 300, but I will go with the lower number for now) If I feel I MIGHT have missed 4 of them (and that doesn't mean I DID miss them, just that I would like to see it again), then that means I am confident I got 98.3% of the pitches correct, and that is just to feel I did a solid job. If I look back over the last 25 years of both baseball and softball, I can honestly say I have left the field and KNOWN that I nailed every pitch a handful of times.

So, let's get some feedback from coaches and pitchers, What is the number YOU had in mind for the number of pitches you feel an umpire can miss in a game and still have turned in a solid performance?