Pitching and Pitchers Discussion Give pitchers a break-umpires strike zone?

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Let's look at another perspective, as I have seen several posts about "illegal pitches" -
I want to look at the other side, and be pro-pitcher.

Hey it is hard enough to stand in there, 40 feet away, facing the "hi-tech power" bats that put all pitchers at risk.

The strike zone is to be called as bottom of armpits, top of knees, any part of ball passing these, as well as any part of ball passing any part of plate in these zones.

I have seen a pitcher for Laser Red (no affiliation with Laser Nation) get no corners, knees, etc., and forced to "bring the ball for offense"

There are two sides to all, so what's the big deal of a "hop" if a pitcher has to throw it down the middle?

 

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I umpire... & my daughters pitcher. I have had coaches comment on my strike zone as being a pitchers strike zone. I call the whole thing. From top to bottom in and out. To be honest my strike zone encompases the whole plate even the black part of the plate not just the white.

I have umpired 10u to 18u. It is amazing the pitches the batters let go by in the first 2 innings that end up in play the rest of the game no matter what age. The batters have lethal weapons and no umpire should feel sorry for a batter. The plate is square not round and needs to be called that way.

Balls and strikes need to be called as they cross the plate not where it lands in the catchers mit. I see umpires calling where the pitch lands in the mit.

If umpires force pitchers to throw the ball down the middle of the plate, they are just asking for a pitchers chances of getting hurt to rize considerably.

 

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Being a pitcher's father myself, nothing aggravates me more than an umpire who shrink the strike zone. The umpires at Sluggerfest were very good, but we had one game against a particularly good hitting team, where the umpire would not call any pitch above the waist. The strike zone was very consistent ... from the belt to the knees and over the plate, no corners. While I had to admit that the zone was the same for both teams, it just takes so much away from the pitcher and makes her a sitting duck out there. The other team deserved to win no doubt ... they were very disciplined and sat back and waited for the pitch down the middle of the plate and they hit some rockets back up the middle. But had either pitcher been hit, I would have let the umpire know that I thought he was partially responsibile. I just think they need to call the game by the rules period, and that definitely includes the strike zone.

 

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I know how hard my DD works to hit the corners and to get her movement pitches, in particular her curve, to hit the corner. It's very frustrating when an ump won't call the ball as it crosses the plate, but instead where it hits the catcher's mitt. It seems that many umps either give the high strike or the low strike, but rarely both. As many others have stated, a well disciplined team will pick up on an umpire's limited strike zone, and will wait for the inevitable "meatball" pitch. It is a scary thing to watch a ball rocket up the middle past the pitcher's feet, chest, or head. With walks being a pitcher's "cardinal sin", especially the leadoff, it?s not hard to figure why a pitcher feels they have no choice but to deliver the "meat" when they aren't getting a decent strike zone. As Fastpitch11 stated, "The batters have lethal weapons and no umpire should feel sorry for a batter. The plate is square not round and needs to be called that way." I couldn't agree more.

 

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Ditto!!!!

 

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I am with you guys 100%! The strike zone is very well defined and the umps are paid to call it what is, not create their own zone. My personal irritant are the umps who call strikes by where the ball hits the glove, and there are a few of them out there. Curve ball? What curve ball?

 

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I am with you guys on umpires simply calling the strike zone and not making up their own. I don't care if it's consistent or not, I want the strike zone called. Even if a particular ump is consistent, how is a hitter or pitcher supposed to be at their best if the strike zone changes from game to game?

Unlike most of you, I think the vast majority of umpires widen the strike zone considerably, partcularly outside and low. I can see the low from the third base coaches box. We have a 6-foot girl who constantly gets strikes called on her with the pitch being a full six inches or more below her knees. And simply watch almost any game from behind home plate and you'll see many umpires calling strikes several inches off of home plate on the outside.

Similarly, I believe many umpires are just looking to make out calls. When a call is missed on the bases, I think 90% of the time the call is "out". I think many umpires simply get it in their head that it looks like a play is going to be an out and can't bring themselves to change their mind when the runner turns out to be safe.

 

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I see to often the umpires calling the strike zone where the ball is caught, or where the the batter is standing. Call the knees, call the corners, don't let the hitters stand back and take the rips at the ball.

 

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One thing to consider here everyone is that there is more fastpitch being played then ever before. There is a "good umpire" or should I say expereinced umpire shortage and what I see week in and week out os the result of that. Each tournament has its share of expereinced umpires and then they have those who are still getting used to the game. Not only the strike zone but the speed of the game. Many may have done baseball in the past and they are used to the larger field. Stuff happens so quickly in fastpitch the play is often ahead of the umpires. I see many new umpires out there who are trying hard and getting better. At some point it will catch up.

With regards to the strike zone I am not sure if we will ever see a "real" strike zone. I see more and more umpires who want to be "The Game" instead of being part of the game. One of the ways that they display thier importantce to the game is by making it very clear that they have thier own strike zone and there will be no discussion about it whatsoever. I think what they are really trying to say is "I am going to make mistakes and this is my way of avoiding any comments about it" I have had umpires literally say at the pregame coin flip "if there is even one question about my strike zone you will be sent to the parking lot". Very friendly indeed. That is a result of so many coaches questioning inconsistant strike zones that now the umpires seem to be hyper sensitive.

What we do is simply tell our pitchers that they always have to be ready to adjust. I remind them that the person behind the plate is human just like you and they will miss some calls just the same way that you will miss some locations. Adjust and move on, you cannot win that fight.

 

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Joe - I agree with you that the strike zone probably grows in size with umpires more than it shrinks, as well as the comment about runners being almost always called out on the bases. The point I think we're all in agreement with is that we want them to call the game by the rules that have been established. The shrinking strike zone thing though is the one area where girls could get hurt.

 

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Calling balls and strikes consistently is easier said than done. When a pitcher shows inconsistency it is hard to call a 'corner'. The best cure is a good catcher. When a catcher pulls the ball back into her body instead of pushing the glove out from her body it makes every pitch look better.

I've notice a larger number of umpires standing further behind the catcher than in past years. From further behind the catcher it is harder to see low strikes. Most any pitch that doesn't go in the dirt or make the catcher turn the glove over to catch will be called a strike.

 

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Any borderline pitch will look like a strike to the defense and a ball to the offense. Sombody is complaining.

 

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What we do is simply tell our pitchers that they always have to be ready to adjust. I remind them that the person behind the plate is human just like you and they will miss some calls just the same way that you will miss some locations. Adjust and move on, you cannot win that fight.

good advice Rich

 

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i like Rich's "we must adjust" line of defense. It's what we always tell our batters, so why not the pitchers? I guess for pitchers it becomes tougher if they favor one-type of pitches over another. We have 2 drop ball/junk pitchers and another who is a rise ball pitcher, so they are going to get different strike calls, and to go back to batters, batters have to adjust to those type of pitches to be successfull.

Still, and I know this has been adressed before, with the number of tourneys all over Ohio, it's no wonder we are hearing more gripes about umping. In the end, it will probably adjust itself in the end, gripes or no gripes.

ps--glad my DD doesn't pitch!

 

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I've tried to impress upon my dd that there are 3 strike zones: The hitter's, the pitcher's and the umpire's. Only one of them matters.

 

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As an Umpire I agree with most of what has been said. This is my first year and part of the reason I became an umpire is for the girls. I know alot of umpires that think the game is about them and their egos. I hear alot of talk in between games and it just makes me split'in mad.

I personally work the slot as a plate umpire. That allows me to look across the plate. In this position I can see the low/high, inside/outside pitch. I do not get blocked by the catcher on low pitches. I get as close to the plate as I can get without interfearing with the players.

One thing I do not like is catchers that pull the ball in the zone. I like it framed. If a pitch is outside corner hooking away but still caught the corner and it is framed, there is a better chance of getting a strike than if it is pulled back into the zone. It happens so fast that I do not get a good look at it if the catcher is pulling it back.

 

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The fact of all of us needing to make adjustments to various strike zones is entirely a separate issue from pleading with the umpiring community to call the rulebook strike zone and not their own. Just because we plead for consistency doesn't mean we don't make adjustments, and just because we make adjustments doesn't mean we can't plead for consistency.

It reminds me of the threads on running up scores where people inevitably say to "get better" to excuse one team's poor sportsmanship. Again, two separate issues and each can be dealt with independently.

 

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I agree with Joe if the umpires would call the strike zone called for in the rule books than, we would not be talking about consistancy

 

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remember not all umpires are bad, anyone ever had umpire Kathy from spano? i think she has lasers in her eyes or something. ? never misses a thing!

 

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Joe is absolutely correct! I wish I could have put it so succienctly. If we weren't having to make adjustments we wouldn't be having this conversation. Do pitchers have to adjust, certainly, but that doesn't mean it's not okay to ask for better.
I think there are many fine umpires out there and I certainly don't believe anyone expects umpires to be perfect, just that they attempt to do their best and enforce the rules as they are set forth in each governing body's rule book.
Remember, this post originally began in relation to putting the pitcher at a disadvantage and/or even in danger due to a shrunken strike zone. I think as always, it's the umpires who enforce extreme strike zones (at either end) that get us most in an uproar. JMHO