quote:Originally posted by FormerObserver:
billyjoe,
Yep, I've observed the same thing. And there are some things to learn.
1. Each ump has there personal strike zone, rarely matching the rule book. Learn it, quickly.
2. You must swing at the 2 strike pitch regardless of where the pitch is located, epecially if you are the visiting team.
3. The visiting team must win by enough margin on the field to take the home umpire out of the game.
No better place to observe this activity than the junior olympics. Florida and Arizona.
It is natural for the local umps to help the local or host team stay in the tournament.
Here come the umps.
You are so correct! It wasn't just the bad strike zone that favored the Bombers that did it for me. It was the obvious bad calls on the field. For instance in one case the ball was hit down the 3rd base line and landed at least 4 feet fair to the right of the line and he signaled "foul" ball. Everyone went crazy! There were several plays on the field that were like this. This is went I lost my faith in the integrity of the game. I repeat, i'm thankful my son didn't see this!