Pitching and Pitchers Discussion stike zone

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There is a invisible circle about the size of a basketball that revolves up and down and in and out.....if your pitcher happens to hit that invisible circle at just the right time, a strike may be called.

So your DD is special enough to get a basketball!! My seems to be getting a thimble!!!;&

 

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Coaches and parents show great restraint to NOT get tossed. A couple of parents went and got the TD. DD slides foot across the front of rubber without losing contact and he kept saying that she was replanting. Only called a couple on the other pitcher who was also pitching the same way. Field ump got 5 rbi's for his effort. Fortunately we were far enough ahead where we were still able to pull the game out.
My dd is lucky if she gets a shoe box zone.

 

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As you progress through the age ranks, you will notice a few things. 10u parents tend to be VERY vocal about "bad umpiring". Of all age groups, this should be the ones who sit, cheer positively and let the kids play the game.

When you eventually get to 16u to 18u, the parents (for the most part) have figured it out, and relax. Sure you get the obnoxious parent who wants to be heard above everyone else and prove they are right, but they are the exception.

Point is - parents, look at the BIG picture. Let the coaches and umpires sort things out. Yelling obnoxiously only makes YOU look foolish. Don't lose sight of what is going on with the sport, and do your best to make it better. Your DD will thank you for it!

 

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After 48 pitches your patience gets pretty thin. This wasn't about the girls, this guy made it about him.
If you are going to call it at least get in the right position so you can see it, you sure can't from behind the 2nd baseman or the SS.

 

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Several threads about illegal pitching earlier this year and heard a lot of griping about it not being called. Now there is griping about it being called. Obviously nobody who wasn't there can comment on what was or was not illegal about it, but I'd love to see a video tape of it. Even so, it seems apparent there was something that ump didn't like, why not change the pitcher?

Pitcher's parents complain their kids get squeezed but if the ump gives them a liberal corner or the armpits or the bottom of the knees, you hear tons of moaning and groaning from the batter's parents about "she can't hit that, no way that's a strike!"

The ump blew a call, blah blah blah.... Somehow I suspect in most cases if you ask the other team's parents, they will usually say GREAT CALL! Yes, umps will blow a call. More often than not, I suspect it's the wonderful view from the bleachers that has the call wrong.

The first thing that JUMPED out at me the first time I umped a game, it's a LOT easier to make the call from the dugout/bleachers when you want a certain result than it is from the field when you have to make a call right away and determine what you saw that happened in a split second.

Sammy couldn't have said it better. (why I am blabbering on about it??) It's a game, it DOES all even out in the end, sit back and enjoy the games. I guess I am just as bad, I'm whining about the whining!

 

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He was calling it on both pitchers on the same team. And yes I was also an ump in my teens and twentys, so I am very tolerant with the men/women in blue.
I understand blown calls, but 48, yes they were counted and logged.
dd has pitched since she was 8 and was taught correctly. He needs to see video about correct pitching and illegal pitches.
Coaches that know her will tell you she does not crop hop, replant, etc.
Up until this weekend she had been called on a total of maybe 8 pitches that blue didn't like, most of those they claimed she wasn't in the lane again amazing to be able to see with no lines ever placed.
People needed to know that this was happening, TD removed him from any further games that we may have been involved with. So there was alot of validity to the complaints.

 

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Struggled with that question myself so here is what I have learned over the years.
1) the blue will set up over the inside shoulder of the catcher leaving the outside pitch to his jugdement.
2) the height is between the armpit and the knees.

You actually want the ump set up to the inside of the catcher so that they can see the outside corner. That is the whole reason for being in that position.

 

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Yep. Set up directly behind the catcher and, more often than not, you get an excellent view...of the back of the catcher's head! Or else, you'll have to set up so high over top of the catcher to see the plate that your angle for the bottom of the zone is terrible.

In "the slot" between the catcher and the batter is the recommended and taught mechanic throughout baseball and softball.

 

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This topic can be remedied so fast it not funny, before next season arrives somewhere there will be an Association, i.e. ASA, USSSA, NSA, OHSAA, that will be putting on Umpire Classes and at times they are posted on OFC. So all those that are complaining and are Non-Umps, jump in your car before next season get to class and upon finishing the course suit up and hit the field and in enjoy the noise you hear around you.

To the main Question: At the H.S. Level there is a recognized Strike Zone.
NFHS 2-56-3 The strike zone is the space over home plate which is between the batter's armpit and the top of the knees when the batter assume a natural batting stance. Any part of the ball passing through the strike zone shall be considered a strike. The umpire shall determine the batter's strike zone according to the batter's natural stance. And Yes! we work the Slot and not the chain-link behind us.

Umping? It's not dealing with the Youth that act like Adults that's the problem, It's dealing with the Adults that act worse then the Youth.


FASTPITCH! Anything else, And you're playing too SLOW!

 

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QUOTE from FPBLUE.... (Umping? It's not dealing with the Youth that act like Adults that's the problem, It's dealing with the Adults that act worse then the Youth.)

RESPONSE:
Maybe this is the catalyst for a TD to have a PARENTLESS Tourney.

Yep, that is right. Drop them off for warm-ups and pick them up at end of day. NO PARENTS. Kind of like an All Nighter Youth Group activity. Just some chaparones(ie:Coaches) and some umps.

I bet that might be some of the best experiences for Umps, Coaches, and Kids and possibly tourney Director.......HMMMM!

They can call this tourney....."What happens on the diamond, stays on the diamond"

 

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Triple:

First of all, why are we both on OFC at 2:30 am? Secondly, how come I don't get great ideas like you do in the middle of the night?

 

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He was calling it on both pitchers on the same team. And yes I was also an ump in my teens and twentys, so I am very tolerant with the men/women in blue.
I understand blown calls, but 48, yes they were counted and logged.
dd has pitched since she was 8 and was taught correctly. He needs to see video about correct pitching and illegal pitches.
Coaches that know her will tell you she does not crop hop, replant, etc.
Up until this weekend she had been called on a total of maybe 8 pitches that blue didn't like, most of those they claimed she wasn't in the lane again amazing to be able to see with no lines ever placed.
People needed to know that this was happening, TD removed him from any further games that we may have been involved with. So there was alot of validity to the complaints.

I was at the Showdown ( my first ASA umpired game since 1984 ). I heard the conversation on Saturday night at the board. Five umpires said they watched her and she was illegal in their minds.

As for the TD changing umpire based on your complaints.. that's not true. Umpires were switched around all over the park from one age group to another so teams would get a different look each day. Friday I did two 14u, Saturday I did one 16u, 2 14u, and 6 12u games. Sunday, I did 3 16u, one 18u Platinum game and then another 16u game.

 

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Triple:

First of all, why are we both on OFC at 2:30 am? Secondly, how come I don't get great ideas like you do in the middle of the night?

LOL! I was doing the Kat Chat! (PMing Kat) our way of Texting. It might be that Kat is simply an inspiration to a persons thoughts.


FASTPITCH! Anything else, And you're playing too SLOW!

 

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What a difference a week makes dd pitches 4 of the 7 games and not one illegal pitch called.
Seen by 9umps, 3 in the championship. And there were illegal pitches called during the games, not on us this time. Thank the softball gods.