Showcase strike zones

[Gbucz]

As I tell my DD when the zone shrinks or an ump forces you to put it down the middle then you better be spinning it hard so they the crappiest hit possible. If you can get it to break right before, or as they are hitting, the ball is never going yard. It took 4 or 5 games (I tape as many as possible) of watching the umps before my DD got the message. She needs to be able to throw a drop breaking from the belt down and a rise from the thighs up to beat those 'bad umps' and be most effective. Breaking out of the zone is only good if the ump gives them to you.

We were at a DI prospects camp and the ump was calling a postage stamp. DD explained what she was seeing and confirmed with the coach that she needed to throw for the middle but only wanted to use rise and drops. The coach was impressed with her. Rise was not working great but her drop really came in. All the batters were swinging down the middle and constantly grounding out.

The ump figured out I was the dad and said he couldn't believe she could throw such a wicked drop so high in the zone. He also confirmed that the coach wanted to see how the pitchers could deal with frustration and small boxes. That supports what cannonball said above. If the coach is looking at you they know you can be good but how you deal with adversity says a lot more.

 

[Atlantabell]

The funny thing about the showcase we were in was that the umpires started out calling a broader strike zone and then made the zone smaller as the game went on. It happened over and over. I agree that pitchers need to adjust. I just don't know why a showcase should be officiated differently than any other game. I am not sure that this is what was happening, this is just what some of the coaches were saying.