Strike Zone ?

[wichita]

So i was at my DD high school game last night and had a great seat right behind home plate. My DD is a lefty slapper and bats first on our team.....first pitch inside ball crosses the plate over the chalk on the inside part of the batters box .......STRIKE the umpire says ....i figure ok first pitch of the game no problem.... Second pitch out side off the plate but not as bad maybe ball and a half off .....she swings and fouls it off .... Good girl foul them off until you get a pitch to hit .......third pitch outside again over the chalk on the right hand batters box ....STRIKE THREE!!!!!.... Ok now before i get a bunch of nay sayers the chalk on both sides of the plate was 6" of the edge of the plate. One thing i will give him is this ridiculous strike zone was consistant all game for both teams.

My question is how can you cover 29" of strike zone with a 33 inch bat now ..i would understand if it was one side or the other but both! Umpires please give me some insight into this.

 

[NVfishing]

My youngest DD (8)was pitching last year. The umpire was talking to her. He had an enlarged strike zone also. Told her if the ball was inside of the white lines he would call it a strike. My DD always tells me she loved that umpire!

 

[Comp]

All I can tell you is some umpires call a bigger zone than others. If he was consistent and calling equal for both teams neither was put at a dissadvantage.

 

[eddieq]

In defense of the umpire - Keep in mind that it's any part of the ball over any part of the plate at the appropriate height (top of the knee to the armpits). That's more than just 17 inches wide. It's 17 inches wide PLUS the width of the ball on either side (essentially) . If a seam nips the front corner (or any part) of that plate in the umpire's judgement, it's a strike. Also, no matter how good your view was, the umpire is right there on top of it seeing it better than you're seeing it.

That said, maybe he was having a bad day. Maybe he just likes to call strikes to keep the game moving. Who knows? But even if it was an expanded zone, he was consistent by your own admission. The hitters just need to deal with it. Crowd the place, lean in and get a piece of an outside pitch, etc.

It's also early in the season. He could just not be "in the zone" quite yet. The same way that players improve as the season goes along, we need some "shake the rust" off time as well. I know that the first few games of the season, I am a little shaky there. Unfortunately, we're expected to be perfect when we walk on the field and get better from there

Hope that helps. The more seasoned guys will also have a perspective, I'm sure.

 

[Casey]

If he was consistent on outside/inside then that is all you can ask for. Since there were no complaints about high/low, from the description given, it would seem the umpire did a fine job. I disagree with you eddie about the umpire having the best look by being on top of it. The hardest place to see the pitches from is directly offset behind the catcher, imho. Hi/low is obvious to everyone on the sides, and i/o better viewed from behind the pitcher. Imho.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Where is she in the box when the ball is passing her, all the way up front? The zone is the hitters body as they are in position to swing, not the stationary plate. So there is 17" of box in front of the plate. Its possible the ball was angled or running to be a strike where your slapper is "moving", but looks like a "ball" crossing the plate or where the catcher catches. Believe it or not some umpires will be liberal to expand the outside zone for slappers or batters who stand "on top of the plate".

With umpires I try to quickly look how they handle outside calls. Remember the umps position themselves by batters position to see the inside pitch. If we run across one who is giving us a strike call on the outside off the plate............we will pitch a tent, light a fire, and camp there all night.


I'm in no way saying this happened to you, just saying how it "can" happen.

 

[Phathead]

I will take a consistent umpire any day over some the alternitives I have seen before.

 

[chinamigarden]

Consistency in the strike zone for both teams and for the whole game is the most you can hope for

 

[Comp]

Where is she in the box when the ball is passing her, all the way up front? The zone is the hitters body as they are in position to swing, not the stationary plate.

I hope you meant to say, the zone is the batters knees to chest over the plate, no matter where the batter may be standing in the box. It is completely possible for a batter or slapper to be up in the very front of the box and a changeup to cross them at the eyes where they are standing, but be belt high over the plate, and a strike. Its also equally possible for the ball to cross them belt high in the front of the box and be out of the zone at the plate for a ball.

 

[coach james]

The strike zone is for pitchers and umpires to determine... lets teach our batters to attack what ever is in a hitting zone (shins to chins and chalk to chalk...) take the blue out of the equation! I HATE it when a kid stands there and takes a strike looking, as the ball crosses at chest height. Hit it, instead of hoping for a ball call