Matt13 posted:WashBarn posted:We're seeing so many low and/or outside pitches off the plate this season it's crazy. How should players prepare to hit balls at their knees 9 inches off the plate? Understanding that with 2 strikes you need to be in big time protect mode -but being down 0-2 on 2 badly called strikes is a tough place to be.
To be honest, I'm not sure I generally put much stock in an assessment such as this.
I know there are horrible umpires. I also know that very few people can see the zone inside and outside with any measure of accuracy. I know I've been accused of ringing batters up on pitches "a foot off the plate" when I can tell you with 100% confidence that they were on the black, at worst.
Keep in mind that on a properly-lined field, 9" is 3" into the other box. Most fields I see at the HS level put the lines too close to the plate, which means we're looking at maybe 6" into the box. Please forgive my incredulity.
I have seen this too. When they are too close anything between the lines is in fact a strike. Actually makes it easier to see.