A question on Ball and strike calls

[Coach JV]

My DD (14U) lives and dies by the low/inside pitch. We had a game
recently where PU was not calling any strikes below upper thigh. DD was frustrated
as was I. PU forced her to pitch high enough in the zone that she was not comfortable.
It is the first time I have had this particular issue with the calling of balls/strikes.
Rather than go crazy, I changed pitchers from the 'ace' to a junkballer. We lost the game 8-7, my question is what is the best way to handle this situation as the
majority of her pitches were above the knee.

On the flip side, we were hurt a bit offensively as batters were having chin- high pitches called strikes. I have always coached to stay off pitches at the chin. A colleague of
mine said I should have approached PU with my concerns, I disagree. It was a seed
game not elimination

 

[shockcoach]

Find the umpire's zone and exploit what you can. Your daughter should become comfortable with pitching to all 4 corners of the zone.

 

[quincy]

If an umpire is inconsistent, you pitch/ bat and hope.

If they are consistent the smart players adjusts.

The really smart players use it to their advantage.

 

[Coach JV]

DD can hit all corners, this was like a scene from bizzaro world

 

[SoftSocDad]

It was just one of those games. Out of the hundreds or even thousands of games you'll play or coach in a lifetime, odds are that you're going to encounter that situation more than a handful of times. You hope it never happens and you surely hope it never happens in an elimination game, but it's the harsh reality of life in any sport. Occasionally, the officials will decide a game.

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

Getting frustrated at the way an umpire is calling balls/strikes will get the pitcher (or you) nowhere. The first thing that a good pitcher will do is to figure out where an umpire is calling strikes, then she uses that information to her advantage.

Example: Pitcher learns that Blue isn't calling anything on the inside but is calling outside, even when ball is almost in the batters box. She now has a major advantage over batters.

 

[starsnuffer]

Crazy zones are part of the game, good pitchers have to learn to deal with this and adjust.

Good catchers make all the difference. Make sure the catcher knows how to receive the ball with their arm/elbow inside the zone (only 3 glove positions to receive the ball, and elbow out, fingers in, isn't one of them).

The pitcher needs to learn to stretch the zone. If the umps zone is small, hit the edge of where they call strikes a few times, then the pitcher can start stretching this a bit. The best pitchers/catchers will have blue calling strikes 6 inches outside the plate by the 7th.

-W

 

[DB1]

If she can hit all corners, why not exploit the high strike? It hurt your team, why would it be better for their team? If she could do it, live at the chin and use the high zone as an advantage. Just my opinion of course.

 

[DSC]

Not much you can do but try to adapt. It's a judgment call, so no point arguing with the ump.

I agree with DB1, if she has good control, work the high strike zone on them as well. On the other hand, you could also use the low inside pitch when the pitcher is ahead in the count, just like throwing outside on a 0-2 count.

 

[sluggers]

Find the umpire's zone and exploit what you can

Exactly right. All you can ask is that an umpire be consistent. If he is calling high inside pitches as strikes, make sure all the girls have masks attached to their helmets.

You and your DD can't worry about the umpire's strike zone. I suspect that you and your DD were feeding off of your each other's frustration with the situation, which only resulted in making the situation worse.

Getting frustrated with an umpire's strike zone is like getting frustrated with the weather. You have ZERO control over it, and you still have to deal with it. Work on the best approach for dealing with the current situation.

My favorite story about bad umpires, (and I've told it before...):

The batter was in the box and swings at a pitch that was at her eyes. The next pitch was at her shoulders, and the umpire call it a strike. The batter looks down at the 3rd base coach with one of those, "I can't believe he called that a strike" looks. The 3rd base coach (lovingly referred to throughout Chicagoland as "The Snake") yelled, "Don't look at me. He's got a better strike zone than you do. Now, get a hit."