Strike Zone ?

[wichita]

^^^^^this is what we are coaching our kids to do! We are going up to the plate looking to hit the ball!

This is what i teach my kid to do as well but you have to be able to reach it to hit it....this is not like shes looking for walks last year she walked a total of 4 times but when she tells you after the game that the only way she can hit the ball is to throw the bat at it i would say its outside...l.and before it gets said she can cover the outside well because thats all she sees slapping

 

[eddieq]

I know the rules of the strike zone eddie i just wish some of the umpires used those rules...

Fair enough. You asked for an umpire's take. I was giving it to you

 

[Lenski]

Pitchers dont determine the strike zone umpires do ....and theres no way where these balls were pitched that they could be touched by a bat unless you. Stepped on the plate ...

Are you sure? Let's do the math. "Chaulk to chaulk" is about 29 inches. The length of the bat is 33 inches and the length of the arm from the armpit to wrist is approximately 15" for a HS girl. So, worst case scenario, a kid can reach about 48 inches across using a 33" bat to foul something off, and that's without bending over at the waist. This also assumes putting the toes on the chaulk. 48-29 = 19 inches of play......plenty of bat to foul a ball off and waste a pitch legally.....and you don't even have to bend at the waist to do it. If your dd swears it was too far away to hit, maybe she was pulling off the ball and running towards 1st base instead of moving straight towards the pitcher.....just a thought.

 

[Casey]

It's OK to disagree as long as you're OK with me disagreeing with your disagreement

If the umpire is positioned correctly, he can see the entire plate and strike zone and has the best view to make the call.

Yes we can disagree. When properly positioned in the 'slot', you are correct, and umpire can see everything. However, when calling from the 'slot', the far front corner of the plate is judged strictly with depth perception, there is no linear reference available. That is why when you see the college umps badly miss pitches on tv, seems its almost always the outside corner. But of course, that is top level ball with pitches breaking incredibly fast. You will also note that MLB umpires set directly BEHIND the catcher, and are incredibly consistent with the i/o pitches.

 

[wichita]

Are you sure? Let's do the math. "Chaulk to chaulk" is about 29 inches. The length of the bat is 33 inches and the length of the arm from the armpit to wrist is approximately 15" for a HS girl. So, worst case scenario, a kid can reach about 48 inches across using a 33" bat to foul something off, and that's without bending over at the waist. This also assumes putting the toes on the chaulk. 48-29 = 19 inches of play......plenty of bat to foul a ball off and waste a pitch legally.....and you don't even have to bend at the waist to do it. If your dd swears it was too far away to hit, maybe she was pulling off the ball and running towards 1st base instead of moving straight towards the pitcher.....just a thought.

I agree with you if all he was calling was the outside pitch which is what most umpires do call one side or the other but if she has to protect 6 to 8 inches inside and try to cover 6 to 8 inches on the outside that IMO is giving the pitcher way more of an advantage than the hitter... after all that is why we have rules for the strike zone and batters boxes that hitters have to stay in when they hit the ball.

 

[Greenmonsters]

The sooner a hitter/coach accepts the fact that the strike zone is what the umpire du jour defines it as for a particular game, the sooner the hitter/coach can adjust to maximize their potential for success. Yes, some umpire's zones may favor the pitchers or they may favor the hitters, but as long as the zone is consistent throughout the game and the same for both teams, there really shouldn't be any beef. When faced with an inconsistent zone, the mandate with 2 strikes is to remove blue from the equation and swing if you can reach it.

 

[wichita]

The sooner a hitter/coach accepts the fact that the strike zone is what the umpire du jour defines it as for a particular game, the sooner the hitter/coach can adjust to maximize their potential for success. Yes, some umpire's zones may favor the pitchers or they may favor the hitters, but as long as the zone is consistent throughout the game and the same for both teams, there really shouldn't be any beef. When faced with an inconsistent zone, the mandate with 2 strikes is to remove blue from the equation and swing if you can reach it.

We do accept it .... we have to but my thing is with rules governing the strike zone is it right for them to just make there own zone and change the rule to umpires descretion .... i understand a ball off but any more than that is just ridiculous.

 

[wichita]

The sooner a hitter/coach accepts the fact that the strike zone is what the umpire du jour defines it as for a particular game, the sooner the hitter/coach can adjust to maximize their potential for success. Yes, some umpire's zones may favor the pitchers or they may favor the hitters, but as long as the zone is consistent throughout the game and the same for both teams, there really shouldn't be any beef. When faced with an inconsistent zone, the mandate with 2 strikes is to remove blue from the equation and swing if you can reach it.

We do accept it .... we have to but my thing is with rules governing the strike zone is it right for them to just make there own zone and change the rule to umpires discretion .... i understand a ball off but any more than that is just ridiculous.

 

[MTR]

We do accept it .... we have to but my thing is with rules governing the strike zone is it right for them to just make there own zone and change the rule to umpires descretion .... i understand a ball off but any more than that is just ridiculous.

I told myself I wasn't going to do this, but......

Don't you think it ironic that everyone complains about umpires calling something other than the exact strike zone? Don't you think it would be quite a coincidence that thousands of umpires across the country all came to the same conclusion at the same time that the strike zone should be called differently than what is in the book? What would L.J. Gibbs say? I don't believe in coincidence.

 

[Lenski]

I agree with you if all he was calling was the outside pitch which is what most umpires do call one side or the other but if she has to protect 6 to 8 inches inside and try to cover 6 to 8 inches on the outside that IMO is giving the pitcher way more of an advantage than the hitter... after all that is why we have rules for the strike zone and batters boxes that hitters have to stay in when they hit the ball.

Adaptation is key as others have stated here. If the ump's giving 6-8 inches either way off the plate, I say crowd the plate and let's see just how accurate the pitcher's inside pitch really is. If the pitcher comes in trying to maintain the real estate she has established, she will give up some base runners because she will hit them. After that, many pitcher's pitches will gravitate closer to the plate for fear of giving up free passes or try to dominate the outside pitch. It's like a game of chess.