POLL ~Umpires fudging with the strike zone area.

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Should ump fluctuate zone pending the pitchers success rate

  • Yes

    Votes: 2 4.9%
  • No

    Votes: 24 58.5%
  • Absurd

    Votes: 12 29.3%
  • Necessary

    Votes: 3 7.3%

  • Total voters
    41

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
How do DFP'ers react to this~
Umpires fudging with the strike zone area.

Screenshot_20211011-064559_Chrome.jpg
This comment is regarding pitches on the perimeter of the zone.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
I am not going to anwser the poll, it is to complicated.

1 game in 8u DD complained to me that the umpire kept talking to her when she was trying to hit, ump stopped paying attention. The opposing pitchers were not even close to getting a ball to plate let alone strike zone. She still hoped she would get a ball to hit.
 
Jun 20, 2015
848
93
seen it just yesterday in 18u game and the ump even came over and told our hitter after the K. "if your team wasn't up big, those last 2 pitches, were not strikes."

did it change the 23-1 score? nope. Did us coaches lose our minds? Nope. Do we agree with a variable zone? Nope.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
seen it just yesterday in 18u game and the ump even came over and told our hitter after the K. "if your team wasn't up big, those last 2 pitches, were not strikes."

did it change the 23-1 score? nope. Did us coaches lose our minds? Nope. Do we agree with a variable zone? Nope.
Geeez...
Umpire explaining why they are being inconsistent.
🙈🙉🙊
 
Feb 24, 2021
119
28
I agree with Cnardone, I don't have a problem with the Ump expanding the SZ somewhat in 10U and even 12U, but I would hope that they keep it consistent for both sides. I've been on both sides of the fence when the Ump would give their pitcher a wider zone and seem to squeeze our pitcher as well as the other way around and I have honestly talked to the ump on both instances. Not in a disrespectful way but still trying to get the point across of keeping it equal for both sides.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
This is a REAL tough one...

At least 90% of my games I am lucky enough to have earned the right to umpire at a level where the pitchers can pitch. That is easy. I call the strike zone and how I call balls and strikes doesn't really vary much for any reason.


However - the other roughly 10% I do some rec, bad travel, bad HS, etc, and about 75% of that features really new or very inexperienced pitchers (and lots of teams without an actual pitcher to bring in). For this level; you are going to probably open it up depending on what the teams have.

In general, you try to umpire to the level of the best pitcher; or until the game is totally out of reach for one team (often because you are calling to the level of the best pitcher). So yeah, maybe it is opened up, but it is consistent for both teams while the game is in play.

The hardest part is that first inning - if the home team throws 30 balls in a row and walks in a few runs, you open up the zone; but then you need to make sure you do the same thing when they come up to bat in the bottom of the first inning.

Bad HS is the worst... If I called the 'normal strike zone' for 2 teams who have pitchers who started pitching as recently as yesterday, you could be out there 5 hours calling a 42-41 seven-inning game. You better believe the zone opens up for that. That is no fun for anyone.

You can argue all you want for not changing the zone for these lowest levels of plays, but for most of you, you are not asked to umpire it and someone has to. I don't do all that much of it, but I will help out if there is a need.
 
Jul 22, 2015
851
93
The answer to the question is complicated. The short version is that there are times when there simply isn't a choice if you want either team to gain anything from playing the game. I work some games (bad HS and some rec) in which I might call 5 or 6 strikes the whole game if I used the "book" strike zone. Honestly, it's more simple when both pitchers are bad. When you have one good pitcher and one terrible pitcher, it gets much more complicated.
 

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