Strike Zone

[geowardjr]

This past spring/summer I thought it was interesting to hear one of the college head coaches state "Once we learned the umpire's strike zone, we were forced to be more aggressive at the plate".

From the 10u days on, how often have you became aggravated with the strike zone? It seems that everyone eventually accepts a strike zone so long as the umpire is consistent with it.

This past weekend, I sat in an area directly behind and above the plate umpire. He was consistently calling a strike on an outside pitch (never hitting the plate or the river but actually on the white part of the outside batters box). The plate ump was this particular pitcher's dream ump because she was throwing a pitch that was being called a strike and almost impossible to hit unless the batter was prepared to go after it. I think I may have moaned after seeing the first pitch called a strike but then relayed the information to our coaches since he was calling every similar outside pitch a strike ... our batters adjusted and hit the ball.

Late in the game (was also late in the tournament) one of the umpires from another field sat next to me then ultimately asked how the tournament was going. One of the dads sitting next to me said that the umpires did a great job this weekend. The umpire said that this particular group were also NCAA umpires and had asked if there was a noticeable difference from what we were used to. I had mentioned that one of the umpires was consistently calling an outside pitch a strike ... he says "consistently bad", I said "No, not bad just that his outside pitch was consistently called a strike when it was obviously a ball". He proceeded to say that he understands exactly what I was saying because he, as an umpire, had the same concerns when he was being trained. He stated that they are trained to stay in the "slot" behind the catcher. (behind catcher between catcher and batter). He said that he would try to slide over to catch the outside pitch but the instructors stated that they are to stay in the slot and make the call on the outside of the plate from the slot. He said "Any close outside pitch is simply a guess by the umpire". I had mentioned that I had always heard that an umpire will give you one corner or the other but rarely both ... he said "yes, me too, but that's not the case with how we were trained.... some umps see the outside better than others, it's a guess on the corner."

 

[daboss]

Human element, the part of the game that changes with the wind at times. It helps keep us on our toes and makes the game what it is. Just as the pitchers keep the players guessing they some times do the same with umps. lol.

I'd still rather watch a kid throw a perfect game than watch a pitching machine in the circle.

 

[wow]

Strike zones are like @#$%, everyone has a different one... Two things come to mind when it comes to the strike zone. One is teach kids to understand it changes with every ump. Be able to hit outside the zone on strike three. Too many times kids are confused with the umps call on the strike zone and end up getting rung up the strike three look. I understand wanting "your" pitch on one and two; however if you don't get it you have to be able to make an adjustment. Secondly focus on what you (coaches and players) control. I Have NEVER seen a ump change a call on a argument of a ball or strike. Everyone has to accept the zone and call. Focus on the first two and if you get two strikes be ready to foul off until the pitcher makes a mistake. Take the ump out of the equation. Be a hitter first.

 

[coachjwb]

Agree that hitters need to make adjustments as needed. Agree that umps may have slighty different "views" of the strike zone depending on where they set up, maybe even their eyesight? My only issue is with umpires who have different interpretations or versions of the strike zone ... that shouldn't be the case.

 

[CarMad]

Agree that hitters need to make adjustments as needed. Agree that umps may have slighty different "views" of the strike zone depending on where they set up, maybe even their eyesight? My only issue is with umpires who have different interpretations or versions of the strike zone ... that shouldn't be the case.

Agree with you here. Strikes called over the shoulders at the plate but drop a little to the glove or drop balls over the knees at the plate that end up lower called balls. Frustrating for both hitters and pitchers at times!

 

[Louuuuu]

I'm sure Bretman will be visiting this subject soon...

 

[Hitter]

Who do you blame when you get a parking ticket or speeding ticket? Who owns responsibility for your actions?

We do not have a strike as I have stated many times, the umpire has a strike zone and we have a hitting zone. We only want the umpire to call safe or out and it is the hitters job to determain what they can hit.

If the hitter has not practiced hitting out of the official strike zone, in my opinion they have failed to prepare or practice properly.

As Crystl has stated many times at clinics, we hit from our nose to our toes in preparation for being able to do it in a game situation if we have too hit the ball no matter who the umpire is that day.

We practice hitting 9 balls high and 9 balls wide and on outside pitches 12 balls wide as a right handed hitter. We practice hitting ground balls, line drives and the long ball as part of practice and our net is designed to measure if they do it.

Do not look for someone to blame just pay the fine to the police or put in the practice time so it pays off for your hitter being able to adjust under certain situations.

This is why tee work is so important....to be able to adjust. Or just put your car on cruise control and you take the police out of it.

Howard

 

[CarMad]

Who do you blame when you get a parking ticket or speeding ticket? Who owns responsibility for your actions?

We do not have a strike as I have stated many times, the umpire has a strike zone and we have a hitting zone. We only want the umpire to call safe or out and it is the hitters job to determain what they can hit.

If the hitter has not practiced hitting out of the official strike zone, in my opinion they have failed to prepare or practice properly.

As Crystl has stated many times at clinics, we hit from our nose to our toes in preparation for being able to do it in a game situation if we have too hit the ball no matter who the umpire is that day.

We practice hitting 9 balls high and 9 balls wide and on outside pitches 12 balls wide as a right handed hitter. We practice hitting ground balls, line drives and the long ball as part of practice and our net is designed to measure if they do it.

Do not look for someone to blame just pay the fine to the police or put in the practice time so it pays off for your hitter being able to adjust under certain situations.

This is why tee work is so important....to be able to adjust. Or just put your car on cruise control and you take the police out of it.

Howard

I certainly agree with your take but there are literally thousands of kids that work to tears on hitting that will never be able to hit like Crystal. She wouldn't be that special if all it took was effort. Fact for most is that if you call strikes at the face (especially at the younger ages) the pitcher is going to have a good day.

 

[HeyBlue!]

I have had players and cooaches ask me before a game "Hey blue...what's your strike zone?" My response is always the same: "It's the same as the ASA rule book definition."

Adding the element of human judgement makes it an imperfect art/science, but I think for the most part as long as you're consistent both the offense and defense will adjust to the nuances from umpire to umpire.

Personally, I don't alter my strike zone much, if any, between age groups. I know quite a few of my peers that DO alter their strike zones a great deal, opening it up for the younger ages. I spent several years coaching before becoming an umpire, starting with a team of 12u kids and working with the same group until they finished at 18u. I really wasn't a fan then of umpires "opening up the strike zone" for the younger kids because I felt it defeated the instruction we gave on hitting discipline at the plate. I still feel that way today. Hard to have girls taking called third strikes on pitches twelve inches off the plate or "from the nose to the toes". Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in squeezing pitchers, either. Just calling a consistent zone by interpreting the way it's defined in the ASA rule book, no matter the age.

Also, I think the slot mechanic (which they teach as the accepted and approved mechanic at National Umpire School) gives an umpire a great, unobstructed view of the entire plate, if done properly. Note, I said if done properly.

 

[HeyBlue!]

We took our girls to Howard and Crystl's hitting clinics on regular occasion, and agree with all hitters having the ability and preparedness to adjust. (Plate coverage is a wonderful part of Howard and Crystl's approach.) But as an umpire, I make it my goal to not be "that guy" that puts players in a position to swing at crap pitches. Both offense and defense should be on an even playing field, IMO.

 

[spartansd]

I have found this discussion interesting for years.

Hitter has it correct in every way. But I will say that I tell me DDs this:

You are going to get "at least" 1 good pitch to drive every at bat. It is your job to drive that ball. If you miss it then you have now put yourself in serious jeopardy. Do not come back to the dugout complaining about the called 3rd strike 6 inches outside. You had your chance and watched it go by or fouled it off. Your issue.

It is a fact of life in college softball and MLB.

And you do not have to be a great hitter to understand and follow these guidelines. This is how the game is played, and to be able to excel at the sport you need to be able to play within these guidelines. That is why it is so important to work on that swing. So when you get that pitch you pound it.

 

[ApogeeDemon]

This past spring/summer I thought it was interesting to hear one of the college head coaches state "Once we learned the umpire's strike zone, we were forced to be more aggressive at the plate".

From the 10u days on, how often have you became aggravated with the strike zone? It seems that everyone eventually accepts a strike zone so long as the umpire is consistent with it.

This past weekend, I sat in an area directly behind and above the plate umpire. He was consistently calling a strike on an outside pitch (never hitting the plate or the river but actually on the white part of the outside batters box). The plate ump was this particular pitcher's dream ump because she was throwing a pitch that was being called a strike and almost impossible to hit unless the batter was prepared to go after it. I think I may have moaned after seeing the first pitch called a strike but then relayed the information to our coaches since he was calling every similar outside pitch a strike ... our batters adjusted and hit the ball.

Late in the game (was also late in the tournament) one of the umpires from another field sat next to me then ultimately asked how the tournament was going. One of the dads sitting next to me said that the umpires did a great job this weekend. The umpire said that this particular group were also NCAA umpires and had asked if there was a noticeable difference from what we were used to. I had mentioned that one of the umpires was consistently calling an outside pitch a strike ... he says "consistently bad", I said "No, not bad just that his outside pitch was consistently called a strike when it was obviously a ball". He proceeded to say that he understands exactly what I was saying because he, as an umpire, had the same concerns when he was being trained. He stated that they are trained to stay in the "slot" behind the catcher. (behind catcher between catcher and batter). He said that he would try to slide over to catch the outside pitch but the instructors stated that they are to stay in the slot and make the call on the outside of the plate from the slot. He said "Any close outside pitch is simply a guess by the umpire". I had mentioned that I had always heard that an umpire will give you one corner or the other but rarely both ... he said "yes, me too, but that's not the case with how we were trained.... some umps see the outside better than others, it's a guess on the corner."

Geoward, I completely agree with you. I have seen umpires call strikes way off the plate. Having a good eye is a skill! Using that skill is important. Laying off a ball way off the plate is doing the right thing. If the rule books states that the pitch that is way off the plate is suppose to be called a ball, then that is what should be called. I have seen girls get frustrated because they know not to swing at balls and then the umpire rings them up. I know its not easy being an umpire but coaching isn't either. How about we allow girls to leave first early and get a steal every time, only to blame the catcher to have a faster, more accurate throw. I think many call strikes to speed the game up. Especially see it in summer ball when it's 90 degrees out. I don't see it as much at the college level. It seems that the umps always get a free pass for being bad in this area.

 

[geowardjr]

Geoward, I completely agree with you. I have seen umpires call strikes way off the plate. Having a good eye is a skill! Using that skill is important. Laying off a ball way off the plate is doing the right thing. If the rule books states that the pitch that is way off the plate is suppose to be called a ball, then that is what should be called. I have seen girls get frustrated because they know not to swing at balls and then the umpire rings them up. I know its not easy being an umpire but coaching isn't either. How about we allow girls to leave first early and get a steal every time, only to blame the catcher to have a faster, more accurate throw. I think many call strikes to speed the game up. Especially see it in summer ball when it's 90 degrees out. I don't see it as much at the college level. It seems that the umps always get a free pass for being bad in this area.

Yes .. this particular ump consistently calling that outside ball a strike certainly forced the girls to defend the plate and swing at some real garbage ... as I mention in the first post ... the ump was a pitcher's dream.

 

[Hitter]

I certainly agree with your take but there are literally thousands of kids that work to tears on hitting that will never be able to hit like Crystal. She wouldn't be that special if all it took was effort. Fact for most is that if you call strikes at the face (especially at the younger ages) the pitcher is going to have a good day.

I started working with Crystl in 2002 and I never taught her how to hit. It was her Dad George, her late Uncle Jesse and her travel ball coach Dale that deserve the credit. However I helped her with her consistency and power. You would have to ask her yourself to verify that.

Truly there is nothing special about Crystl and she would and has told everyone that at clinics and in interviews. She has a work ethic that is second to none.....not bad for a female who has a learning disability (not diagnosed until she was a senior in high school) and is dyslexic.

I have trained our kids and a lot of coaches (many who have helped at our clinics and have profited from her knowledge) in her philosophy and we have made unique gadgets to aid in their training and yes it works for the boys also. Just swinging will not make your daughter better. Ask other players and coaches who have helped them to get better and work with them.

I have told hitters to not come back because they were not working on their own between visits....work ethic comes from your kid and not from a book or video in my opinion.

Howard

 

[CarMad]

I started working with Crystl in 2002 and I never taught her how to hit. It was her Dad George, her late Uncle Jesse and her travel ball coach Dale that deserve the credit. However I helped her with her consistency and power. You would have to ask her yourself to verify that.

Truly there is nothing special about Crystl and she would and has told everyone that at clinics and in interviews. She has a work ethic that is second to none.....not bad for a female who has a learning disability (not diagnosed until she was a senior in high school) and is dyslexic.

I have trained our kids and a lot of coaches (many who have helped at our clinics and have profited from her knowledge) in her philosophy and we have made unique gadgets to aid in their training and yes it works for the boys also. Just swinging will not make your daughter better. Ask other players and coaches who have helped them to get better and work with them.

I have told hitters to not come back because they were not working on their own between visits....work ethic comes from your kid and not from a book or video in my opinion.

Howard

I whole heartedly agree but I believe that - not all players can be great hitters. Great hitters have natural talent, good hand-eye coordination, and a sense for the game that can't be taught. Every player can improve their hitting skills with the proper mechanics, but not every player will be a great hitter (I stole this statement from another forum).Which is why I believe the strike zone matters to most.

 

[coachjwb]

Just was listening to Mike and Mike on ESPN on the way to work this morning, and they were talking about the World Series game last night, and they had the very same discussion with Mark Teixeira about the strike zone in last night's game and how it affects hitters. As Mark said, the strike zone matters a lot to most hitters except the true great ones like Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout who can and will hit most anything. While no doubt much can be done to improve hitting for pitches at various locations in and out of the zone, the zone being called matters a lot to pitchers and hitters. I have not had the pleasure to meet Crystl, but I have heard great things about her personally and about her work ethic, but I also don't buy 100% that "there's nothing special about her". While she has a beautiful swing and great mechanics, her size and strength also help set her apart from others and played a role in her hitting success.

 

[cobb_of_fury]

I always tell the girls By Rule the Umpire is part of the field so if he's calling strikes to the white line on the other batters box or to your shoe tops -it's just part of the game. Watch and learn his strike zone.
You are allowed to complain the first at bat in the first inning after that you should know what his strike zone is. This human element is what makes the game great

Fastpitch is a game of adjustment - the successful hitter will be the one who can make the adjustment the same for the successful pitcher.

(Though I do agree that it is frustrating as heck to see strikes called that obviously aren't - and umpires should work harder to stay true to the strike zone)

Now what does cheeze me off is the moving strike zone - that is an issue -

 

[Hitter]

Scott she started playing baseball with the boys at 4.5 years old. Per the rule of 10 (from the book The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle) it takes about 10 years working at something specific before you become really good at something. The Beatles were together 9.8 years before they had a hit record. Tiger Woods 10 years and Crystl was 16 when they felt she would be something special. She was a pitcher on a boys team until she was 12 and her Dad told her they are not gong to let you play baseball in high school and started playing softball. My point in telling you this she was taught how to throw correctly and it transcends into her hitting.

I have had about 10 kids who have learning disabilities or have ADH issues and require medications. All were good hitters and it underlines the fundamental foundation of learning how to throw first to feel the weight shift required to run, throw and hit.

The female is usually 2 to 4 years behind the physiological and neurological skills of boys per Dr. David Marshal Children's Hospital Atlanta. This is running on uneven surfaces, throwing rocks, climbing, tag, lifting rocks using leverage. Most girls at 5 or 7 years old are not allowed to run around in the "hood" after school however the boys do. Then at 8 to 10 they want to start playing sports.

At clinics, time after time the coaches could not even demonstrate how to teach balance which appears to be simple until you test for it. You want to understand why they hit like a girl, run like a girl and throw like a girl do some research.....we teach them how to do the above mentioned like an athlete not a girl or a boy.

If this is not being taught by your current coaches I would look elsewhere for advice. Females are audio visual learners and learn differently than boys. Boys are kinestheic, tactical learners and learn more about how the body moves and develop their muscles at an earlier age. My girls who played baseball are the better hitters in my opinion because they learned how to throw a ball and run.

Hope this helps

Howard

 

[CarMad]

Scott she started playing baseball with the boys at 4.5 years old. Per the rule of 10 (from the book The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle) it takes about 10 years working at something specific before you become really good at something. The Beatles were together 9.8 years before they had a hit record. Tiger Woods 10 years and Crystl was 16 when they felt she would be something special. She was a pitcher on a boys team until she was 12 and her Dad told her they are not gong to let you play baseball in high school and started playing softball. My point in telling you this she was taught how to throw correctly and it transcends into her hitting.

I have had about 10 kids who have learning disabilities or have ADH issues and require medications. All were good hitters and it underlines the fundamental foundation of learning how to throw first to feel the weight shift required to run, throw and hit.

The female is usually 2 to 4 years behind the physiological and neurological skills of boys per Dr. David Marshal Children's Hospital Atlanta. This is running on uneven surfaces, throwing rocks, climbing, tag, lifting rocks using leverage. Most girls at 5 or 7 years old are not allowed to run around in the "hood" after school however the boys do. Then at 8 to 10 they want to start playing sports.

At clinics, time after time the coaches could not even demonstrate how to teach balance which appears to be simple until you test for it. You want to understand why they hit like a girl, run like a girl and throw like a girl do some research.....we teach them how to do the above mentioned like an athlete not a girl or a boy.

If this is not being taught by your current coaches I would look elsewhere for advice. Females are audio visual learners and learn differently than boys. Boys are kinestheic, tactical learners and learn more about how the body moves and develop their muscles at an earlier age. My girls who played baseball are the better hitters in my opinion because the learned how to throw a ball and run.

Hope this helps

Howard

Excellent post. I am not and would never disagree with what you teach or your knowledge on the subject. I wish I had 1/10 of your ability to teach and I am sure every student who dedicates themselves to your program improves exponentially. My question is that if you work with 100 kids for 10 years (same effort, commitment ect...) will they all come out the same? How many would be considered Great? That's not a label just handed out to anyone and I would have considered Crystl great. I feel we are all unique and have limitations (or I would have been in the NFL! HaHa!).

 

[Hitter]

Per Scott, "My question is that if you work with 100 kids for 10 years (same effort, commitment ect...) will they all come out the same? How many would be considered Great?"

I usually do not get the kids until 10 or 11 years old. Most go on to play college ball at some level. We had one female pro player, about 4 at the Frontier level and one in the minor leagues.

For me playing D1 is not the goal. Getting them to go to the next level and play and graduate and get some of their education paid for is the biggest satisfaction.

Some have broken school records for academic achievements, home runs etc.

Being able to go to their weddings and hear about their degrees and jobs really makes it worth the effort. I've had one so far bring their 6 year old for lessons. Probably will not live long enough to see their kids success however planting the seed is what it was all about.

Howard