Showcase strike zones

[splinterpicker]

We just returned from another college showcase and I left there confused. Showcases are suppose to showcase players talents. My DD had a line drive hit her in a game at another showcase a while back. This weekend I know of two that were hit and that is just at the complex we were at. Some friends of ours DD was hit twice. My question is win did the strike zone shrink. Had one umpire tell our catcher "Dont bother framing Im only gonna call a strike if its down the river." Down the middle out the middle . Pitchers already have a 300 dollar disadvantage, why make them throw down the middle to showcase their talent? Would like to know if Im the only one bothered about this. If the umpires want it down the middle then why not just put a machine out there.

 

[starsnuffer]

Seems you're stretching a bit making your judgement on showcases based on one umpire in one tournament.

Your pitchers need to expand their brains a bit.

Look, they're at a showcase. None of the batters want to walk, they want to show off what they can do. Make the balls look like strikes and they'll swing at the pitch. The batters want to hit.. If your 18 gold pitchers can't do that, then they are not ready for college pitching anyway. Pitchers need to be the masters of their own success, blaming the umpires makes them appear to be just another whining pretty pretty princess.

-W

 

[CoachFP]

Splinterpicker, where was the coach in all of this? If I were coaching one of these teams and the umpire said something as ridiculous as that it would be World War 3. Now are you just taking what one umpire said and making it as if all showcases are like that and that is why your daughter got hit with a batted ball? I was recruiting at a showcase this past weekend and the umpiring was fine. And besides, what does the umpire gain in that scenario anyway? The games are timed so he/she will be working the entire time anyway.

 

[splinterpicker]

Im not blameing any umpire or anything. I fully recognize what showcases are for. Point is that down the middle takes away the pitcher showcaseing herself. My dd can make batters swing, she got hit on her own mistake not the umps. The others that got hit were on other fields that we were watching between games. The topic comes from the stands of other games and other showcases. I did not find out about the umpire in our game until we were on the way home. I believe that good pitchers deal with what ever strikes zone the ump has. Just thought that 3 pitchers getting hit and several close calls was a high number in about 3 or 4 hour time frame.

 

[Atlantabell]

I had someone say this to me at a showcase. He was not an umpire but a coach. He said, "It's a showcase and they want to showcase hitting." My only thought is, aren't they supposed to showcase players' skills? Shouldn't they just umpire?

 

[joemcq51]

My DD just finished pitching in the Sun Classic in Orlando. I thought the zone was fairly consistent. Every ump was different, but basically they called solid games. I think at the better showcases, you get some of the best umpires around. Some of the umpires this weekend work for the NCAA and called games for the SEC. I will say that nothing above the belt is being called. I do think pitchers are getting the width of the plate and in some cases can stretch the zone. Since I don't see the zone getting any bigger as my DD gets older she has to find a way to get girls out. She is quickly learning a ground ball or easy fly ball to left is as good as a strike out.

 

[splinterpicker]

With all arguments about wearing masks or not wearing masks and gerneral safety are down the middle umpires making the game safer ?

 

[starsnuffer]

The only way I can see umpires shrinking the strike zone like this would be at the demand of the tournament director. IE, "you call the game my way or you don't work here" situations. In this case, I'd be more interested in where these tournaments were being held and who was putting them together so that they can be avoided.

-W

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Hopefully it's just a bad experience. I've been involved in thousands of games, and umpires have their own interpretation of the strike zone in almost each one of those. We were in one last season, one game I was watching the ump had a zone about 10" wide from the center of the plate and the pitcher was getting lit up like you describe. Next game the umps rotated position and the next PU had a zone at least 4" off the black on both sides. The pitchers had a great game defensively. Sometimes it's a tournament/expo with tight zones, sometimes it's just the ump of the game, pretty much it's just luck of the draw.

If we play in our state or if I've had enough time to evaluate umps and their zones abroad, it might help me make a decision on who I put in the circle. Umps giving corners I'll go with my curve/screw pitchers, umps tight on corners but liberal on high/low I'll tend to go with a drop/rise pitcher.

Give you another 2 cents with no scientific proof but it does have a good % of success. If you "feel" your pitcher is getting bad calls, change her out. I've seen the umps zone stay the same and I've seen it get larger with the swap, very very very few times have I seen it shrink.

 

[Cannonball]

splinterpicker, my dd pitched in several showcases and to be honest, we never ran in to that problem. So, I would suggest that this might not be the norm. BTW, college coaches know exactly what they are looking for. My dd was pitching in one game and we had several errors. We won and the college coached talked to dd and I after the game. She was embarassed that she had done so poorly. His comment was that he was excited to see how she did when things didn't go right. It is all a matter of perspective and what you want to make out of it.