Pitching and Pitchers Discussion Strike Zone

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Has any one noticed that the umpires no longer give the pitchers a strike at the letters or arm pits? Has the strike zone changed? ?Back in the day ? the rule was arm pits to knees. What happened?

 

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Has any one noticed that the umpires no longer give the pitchers a strike at the letters or arm pits? Has the strike zone changed? ?Back in the day ? the rule was arm pits to knees. What happened?

Im pretty sure they have changed it to belly button to shoe laces! LOL at least that has been my experience as of late. Cant seem to find that change in the rule book though!:lmao:

 

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I actually had an umpire tell me he didn’t care what the rule was. He did not believe that a pitch at the letters could be hit. He told me to adjust to his strike zone. I ask him why he felt the need to make up his own strike zone. That didn’t go well.

 

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I know of a few umps who apparently do NOT consider the outside corner a strike!? I've been noticing alot of umps not giving letters..... I'm OK with that, I'd rather my pitchers hit there corners at the knees..... but as said above, that does bite me in the *** every now and then!

 

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I had an umpire tell me that he doesn't give strikes at the letters or knees because they are difficult to hit, but is more forgiving on the inside and outside pitches. I asked him about the letters and knees, "isn't that the point?" He just looked at me with a blank look on his face.

 

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I'm wondering if things have changed, or perhaps, it changes with the age groups.

In 16U, 18U, and High School, I see shoulder-high "strikes" all the time.

 

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It seems to be broader at the 10-U and sometimes 12-U when you have a weaker pitching - ump tends to expand the strike zone. Is the Rec-ball thought coming into Travel ball?

 

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I had an umpire tell me that he doesn't give strikes at the letters or knees because they are difficult to hit, but is more forgiving on the inside and outside pitches. I asked him about the letters and knees, "isn't that the point?"

I agree completely that this is "the point". The pitchers work hard to put pitches in the strike zone that are still "difficult to hit"! They spend countless hours learning to throw strikes that are difficult to do anything with. An umpire who takes away pitches on the edges of the zone because they are difficult to hit, is short-changing the kid's hours of focus and training IMHO. Not to mention planting a seed in the kid's head that the only way they are going to have a chance is to feed up grapefruits over the center of the plate.

Being able to move around the zone is what gives a 52mph pitcher the ability to hang in against a 62mph pitcher as well.

The thing that irks me more is when an ump has a difficult time calling the third strike on a kid. Seems (at least in my mind) like sometimes they decide to give the batter the benefit of the doubt and another chance to swing at the next one. One pitch can change a game.

That said, I think the umpiring I've seen so far has been pretty good overall. Good knowledge of rules and control of the game. I'd never want their job.

 

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Is the Rec-ball thought coming into Travel ball?

No, I don't think it is, at least from a coaching perspective. The strike zone should be generally the same for all levels and all ages. It's the only way to ensure fairness to every batter and every pitcher from good players to bad. Kids should be taught to hit the same strike zone when they're 8 as when they are 18. I can understand some gradual expansion when a game is 20-1 in the third inning or something. Other than that, coaches should be able to teach a kid the basic definition of a strike zone while allowing for only minor deviations from umpire to umpire.

 

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An umpire and his or her's strike zone is part of the game just like anything else that's talked about and debated on this forum. Just like anything else, you have to deal with it and make adjustments, its just part of the game. If you think strike zones are bad now in travel ball, just wait till college......

 

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If you think strike zones are bad now in travel ball, just wait till college......

You're not kidding!

 

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Had an ump once tell both coaches that he only calls strikes from the waste down to the knees. Both coaches used the take sign a lot and we had a walk fest.

 

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An umpire and his or her's strike zone is part of the game just like anything else that's talked about and debated on this forum. Just like anything else, you have to deal with it and make adjustments, its just part of the game. If you think strike zones are bad now in travel ball, just wait till college......

Individual strike zones can be adjusted to. It is the ever changing strike zone that drives me crazy. As for the college strike zone. I saw a pitch during the wcws that was clearly 8 inches outside and was called a strike. Then what was really comical was when they showed the slomo with the defined box. The announcer said, "wow, just caught the outside corner".

 

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I don't think there's any movement afoot for umps to call the strike zones differently. I think some do adjust it for the age groups, some adjust it for the score and/or pitchers' abilities, a few adjust it to get games over quicker, and a few just apparently don't see very well! Generally speaking, the college strike zone is much smaller from my experience. Of course, there are always exceptions, just like there are in MLB.