- May 29, 2015
- 3,813
- 113
Join us as we explore a space more mysterious than the Bermuda Triangle, more debated than the Kennedy Assassination, and more misunderstood than a Georgia O'Keefe painting ... the strike zone.
"Do not try to bend the strike zone. That is impossible. Instead, only realize the truth. There is no zone. Then you will see it is not the strike zone that bends, it is only yourself." -- Matrix Umpire Kid
Even though Major League Baseball with their robo-umpires and imaginary laser boxes cannot figure it out, the strike zone is actually well-defined. The issue with strike zones is that they are defined differently across almost every brand of the game. They also change not just with every batter, but can change from one pitch to the next to the same batter. I won't get into the ways the view of the strike zone can change (for the umpire, for the coach, for the players, or for the fans). For now I just want to look at the rules of the strike zone. The first rule of strike zone ... you don't talk about strike zone.
One thing that stays the same across every code in baseball and softball is the width of home plate. Home plate is 17 inches wide and that leads us to the first myth we need to debunk: "It caught the black!" Don't forget the old adage that black is very slimming -- this is especially true for home plate because the black is not part of the plate! The 17-inch width of home plate covers the white portion of the plate (NCAA 2.18, NFHS 1-2-2, USA 2.3G, USSSA 1.2A). If your pitcher sees a red door and tries to paint the black ... it's a ball.
Another popular myth we must debunk (no, you may substitute your own reality Mr. Savage) is that a ball "in the river" is a strike. [Inserting personal rant here: THERE IS NO RIVER ON A SOFTBALL FIELD. The ball would get wet and players would be swept away.] "The river" is a popular hangout for pitched balls that are neither over home plate nor in the batter's box. A properly set up field is not only as elusive as a cryptid, but it also has SIX inches of space between home plate and the batter's box line. This leaves plenty of space for a ball to fit into while not only NOT being in the batter's box but also NOT being over the plate. NCAA calls this "shared space for pitchers and batters and balls and strikes." Many others call it total anarchy ... "dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!" Schrodinger's cat would be proud ... and so will I when your umpire calls this pitch a ball if it is not over the plate. Or I'll be more impressed when I see a field that actually leaves six inches between the plate and the line.
If you are like my students, by this point you are getting restless and saying "Get on with old man, you're talking too much! We don't like your pop culture references and we don't get your jokes!" I'm used to it.
NCAA 11.3.1
Strike zone. The zone is the area above home plate between the bottom of the batter’s sternum and the top of their knees when they assume their natural batting stance. The top of the ball must be on or within the horizontal plane, and either side of the ball must be on or within the vertical plane of the strike zone to be a strike unless the ball touches the ground before reaching home plate.
The NCAA rule is interesting because the TOP OF THE BALL must be within the "up-down" parts of the zone. This means a ball that just scrapes the lower limit IS a strike while a ball that is 99% below the upper limit is a ball. NCAA does use the "any part of the ball" standard for the horizontal zone (but they do for the vertical zone). If you didn't ace biology in high school, the sternum is the center bone in your chest/rib area. If you are 30 years out of high school, it is roughly the top of your beer belly.
NFHS 2-56-3
The strike zone (F.P.) is the space over home plate which is between the batter's forward armpit and the top of the knees when the batter assumes a natural batting stance. Any part of the ball passing through the strike zone in flight shall be considered a strike. The umpire shall determine the batter's strike zone according to the batter's usual stance.
NFHS uses the "any part of the ball" standard, which opens the zone up a bit. The upper limit is also much higher, using the front armpit for the top boundary. This means a ball riding the batter's shoulder could be a strike in NFHS while being a good six inches high in NCAA.
NFHS also defines the boundaries by the batter's "usual stance" not their "natural batting stance." While many would argue those are the same thing, I would say it is much easier for me to declare the batter is not in her usual stance when she reaches 3-0 and pulls a Rickey Henderson stance out.
USA Rule 1 Definitions
STRIKE ZONE: That space over any part of home plate, when a batter assumes a natural batting stance adjacent to home plate: A. (Fast Pitch) Between the batter’s arm pits and the top of the knees.
USA 7.4.A. A strike on the batter ... (Fast Pitch/Slow Pitch with stealing) For each legally pitched ball entering the strike zone.
The USA rule is similar to the NFHS rule in definition. However it provides us "the armpits" (no help on a batter who is not standing level) and the knees for the horizontal plane. It also provides no guidance on which part of the ball, so one must default to "any part of the ball" which, again, opens the zone up a bit. The fact that USA takes part of two rules and still doesn't make it any clearer is not surprising. This is an issue with a rule set that is written uniformly and applied to all age and skill levels, from youth to adults, male and female.
USSSA Rule 3 Definitions
STRIKE ZONE. The strike zone is that space over home plate, which is between the batter’s forward armpit and the top of the knees when the batter assumes a natural batting stance. Any part of the ball passing through the strike zone in flight shall be considered a strike; the Umpire shall determine the batter’s strike zone according to the batter’s usual stance.
Sound familiar? No, NFHS, we didn't steal your wording. We changed "the space" to "that space." And we used a semi-colon. It's all good! (What happens when a semi-colon breaks the law? It receives consecutive sentences. Ask your neighbor who is an English teacher.)
With all of that said ... any good umpire knows the strike zone is what actually keeps the games moving. If we called it by the book all the time, your daughter would still be playing in her third 10u game while writing her college entrance essay. You would have set up your pop-up tent to watch your daughter play and taken down when your grandkid finished.
The strike zone, like any good marriage, is set in stone but made of rubber. Appreciate it when your umpires do NOT call it by the book.
"Do not try to bend the strike zone. That is impossible. Instead, only realize the truth. There is no zone. Then you will see it is not the strike zone that bends, it is only yourself." -- Matrix Umpire Kid
Even though Major League Baseball with their robo-umpires and imaginary laser boxes cannot figure it out, the strike zone is actually well-defined. The issue with strike zones is that they are defined differently across almost every brand of the game. They also change not just with every batter, but can change from one pitch to the next to the same batter. I won't get into the ways the view of the strike zone can change (for the umpire, for the coach, for the players, or for the fans). For now I just want to look at the rules of the strike zone. The first rule of strike zone ... you don't talk about strike zone.
One thing that stays the same across every code in baseball and softball is the width of home plate. Home plate is 17 inches wide and that leads us to the first myth we need to debunk: "It caught the black!" Don't forget the old adage that black is very slimming -- this is especially true for home plate because the black is not part of the plate! The 17-inch width of home plate covers the white portion of the plate (NCAA 2.18, NFHS 1-2-2, USA 2.3G, USSSA 1.2A). If your pitcher sees a red door and tries to paint the black ... it's a ball.
Another popular myth we must debunk (no, you may substitute your own reality Mr. Savage) is that a ball "in the river" is a strike. [Inserting personal rant here: THERE IS NO RIVER ON A SOFTBALL FIELD. The ball would get wet and players would be swept away.] "The river" is a popular hangout for pitched balls that are neither over home plate nor in the batter's box. A properly set up field is not only as elusive as a cryptid, but it also has SIX inches of space between home plate and the batter's box line. This leaves plenty of space for a ball to fit into while not only NOT being in the batter's box but also NOT being over the plate. NCAA calls this "shared space for pitchers and batters and balls and strikes." Many others call it total anarchy ... "dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!" Schrodinger's cat would be proud ... and so will I when your umpire calls this pitch a ball if it is not over the plate. Or I'll be more impressed when I see a field that actually leaves six inches between the plate and the line.
If you are like my students, by this point you are getting restless and saying "Get on with old man, you're talking too much! We don't like your pop culture references and we don't get your jokes!" I'm used to it.
NCAA 11.3.1
Strike zone. The zone is the area above home plate between the bottom of the batter’s sternum and the top of their knees when they assume their natural batting stance. The top of the ball must be on or within the horizontal plane, and either side of the ball must be on or within the vertical plane of the strike zone to be a strike unless the ball touches the ground before reaching home plate.
The NCAA rule is interesting because the TOP OF THE BALL must be within the "up-down" parts of the zone. This means a ball that just scrapes the lower limit IS a strike while a ball that is 99% below the upper limit is a ball. NCAA does use the "any part of the ball" standard for the horizontal zone (but they do for the vertical zone). If you didn't ace biology in high school, the sternum is the center bone in your chest/rib area. If you are 30 years out of high school, it is roughly the top of your beer belly.
NFHS 2-56-3
The strike zone (F.P.) is the space over home plate which is between the batter's forward armpit and the top of the knees when the batter assumes a natural batting stance. Any part of the ball passing through the strike zone in flight shall be considered a strike. The umpire shall determine the batter's strike zone according to the batter's usual stance.
NFHS uses the "any part of the ball" standard, which opens the zone up a bit. The upper limit is also much higher, using the front armpit for the top boundary. This means a ball riding the batter's shoulder could be a strike in NFHS while being a good six inches high in NCAA.
NFHS also defines the boundaries by the batter's "usual stance" not their "natural batting stance." While many would argue those are the same thing, I would say it is much easier for me to declare the batter is not in her usual stance when she reaches 3-0 and pulls a Rickey Henderson stance out.
USA Rule 1 Definitions
STRIKE ZONE: That space over any part of home plate, when a batter assumes a natural batting stance adjacent to home plate: A. (Fast Pitch) Between the batter’s arm pits and the top of the knees.
USA 7.4.A. A strike on the batter ... (Fast Pitch/Slow Pitch with stealing) For each legally pitched ball entering the strike zone.
The USA rule is similar to the NFHS rule in definition. However it provides us "the armpits" (no help on a batter who is not standing level) and the knees for the horizontal plane. It also provides no guidance on which part of the ball, so one must default to "any part of the ball" which, again, opens the zone up a bit. The fact that USA takes part of two rules and still doesn't make it any clearer is not surprising. This is an issue with a rule set that is written uniformly and applied to all age and skill levels, from youth to adults, male and female.
USSSA Rule 3 Definitions
STRIKE ZONE. The strike zone is that space over home plate, which is between the batter’s forward armpit and the top of the knees when the batter assumes a natural batting stance. Any part of the ball passing through the strike zone in flight shall be considered a strike; the Umpire shall determine the batter’s strike zone according to the batter’s usual stance.
Sound familiar? No, NFHS, we didn't steal your wording. We changed "the space" to "that space." And we used a semi-colon. It's all good! (What happens when a semi-colon breaks the law? It receives consecutive sentences. Ask your neighbor who is an English teacher.)
With all of that said ... any good umpire knows the strike zone is what actually keeps the games moving. If we called it by the book all the time, your daughter would still be playing in her third 10u game while writing her college entrance essay. You would have set up your pop-up tent to watch your daughter play and taken down when your grandkid finished.
The strike zone, like any good marriage, is set in stone but made of rubber. Appreciate it when your umpires do NOT call it by the book.
