Attention All Umpires!

Interesting article. Umpires call a strike zone that is much smaller than the one described. I wonder what would happen if they expanded it to the proper definition. We might see 15 K games with regularity from the pitchers.

Ahhhh, yes, the strike zone! It is what the umpire THAT day decides, and it always will be. I don't know many coaches who believe the strike zone should be called at the letters, and I don't know many high school umpires who DON'T give a couple of inches off the plate, especially "away". The beautiful thing about baseball are the little nuances. Every park is different, every mound is different, the weather changes, the wind shifts, and the umpires are ALL idiots (especially the guy behind the plate)! Parents and coaches will ALWAYS argue about the strike zone because it is essentially amorphous, this coming from a coach who was almost tossed today as a result of chirping about the strike zone. What would we do if we weren't about to argue? Even K-Zone looks wrong half the time! I don't even trust the computers!

Thank you Captain (sort of). You are much closer than most people think. It's also not uncommon to give the zone you described at the college level.

Now luv, I really don't think you want a "rule book" strike zone. You will have fewer strike-outs and more walks/hits because you won't get anything just off the plate, and coaches teach their pitches not to throw above the belt. So, if their hitting that spot just off the plate and just above the knees - ball. Then the umpire is accused of "squeezing" the pitcher.

Randy

Base,

Actually I was going in the opposite direction. Given the ball is about 4" in diameter of the plate could become more than 2' wide. Add in a shin to letter strike zone pitchers would have an enormous zone to hit. Good pitchers would blow away hitters and take much of the enjoyment from participating and watching games.

Obviously the strike zone has individual interpretaion but is relitively consistent as far as verticle calls goes. The biggest variance from Ump to Ump is how wide that low outside is.

Teams that are paying attention should know after a batter or two what it is going to be that day and adjust accordingly. Every coach me included wants consistency, confident and solid calls. When that doesn't happen that's when the chirping begins

Base, for the record, I pitched all my life and wanted the ball a couple of inches off the plate and the one just below the knees . Pitchers should very rarely argue the "high strike" as most pitches thrown at the letters are either "purpose" pitches or mistakes. As "luv" said, all we want is consistency as it relates to the zone and fairness as it relates to the two opponents.

the TRUE word there is consistencey. Don't care much for high strike called, but if consistent whether bad or good everyone can adjust to that. Now the base umpire no excuse for you

My mistake luv. I took your post as umpires call a strike zone smaller than the "rule book".

I agree, that the teams want the same strike zone from the first pitch to the last. I believe that every umpire goes into the game with that same goal. Could the umpire being having a bad day? Yes. Could some umpires be better than others? Yes. Just remember, we all want to do a good job every time out. I also agree, that teams should know the zone for the day within the first few batters, or at least the first inning. Especially the catchers. As a catcher for almost 30 years, I took the zone back to the dugout after the first inning.

Zeus, I hope the "Go WAHOOS" is not for UVA? My son is a Hokie!

Randy

No problem we're on the same page on this one. I've always believed Players and Coaches determine wins and losses even if the calls are occasionally choppy.

It ain't easy being blue.

Base Jones UVA pride all the way, i can't believe you allowed your son to be a hokie, oh well everyone is allowed one mistake i guess he will just have to pay for it for a couple of years that is all, LOL....

P.S one question.. Can you give me a little advice about maybe how to get an umpire to change a judgement call such as a homerun over the foul pole or bang bang play at a bag? I have only ever seen one umpire change the call, but i guess coaches could always be educated on what might be a good way to persuade without being an a-hole..

Few calls can be changed, for a variety of reasons. In your two examples (1) the bang-bang play at first - not going to happen. (2) The homerun/foul ball over the foul pole - possible.

Some basic things when coming out to "discuss" a call with an umpire. (1) If you come out screaming and hollering, you are wasting your breath. You need to come out calmly and talk through what you each saw. Most of the time the umpire has a better angle, and you won't see the same thing. However, sometimes plays get screwy and the umpire can't get a good angle. Unfortunately, with 2 umpires, that can happen, but we try to get the best possible look every time. (2) Balls that leave the yard (homerun or ground-rule double) can be discussed. There are plenty of fields that the outfield fence or poor lighting makes it very hard to tell. During the discussion, you can ask if he will get help from his partner. With 2 umpires, it may not do any good because one has the ball and the other has the runner(s). With 3 or more, there's a better chance one of the other umpires saw the ball also. If he does get help (and he doesn't have to), when the decision is reached, that's it. "You ask me to get help, and I did. The play stands." (3) A foul ball (other than homerun) can't be changed because "where do we put runners"? A fair ball can be changed to foul, because we put any runners back. (4) We can't change a call that leaves runners at a disadvantage or where to place runners. (5) When you want to discuss a call, go to the umpire who made the call. If you go to one of the others, not going to happen.

Unfortunately, we can only go on what we see. A number of years ago, I was at Princess Anne HS early in the season. For many, they know that the sun is terrible on the 3rd base line before daylight savings time. With no runners on, the batter hit a shot down 3rd that I called fair. I knew that I had no idea because I was still seeing spots from the sun after the play was over. Because of this (I knew I didn't have a good look), I told Coach Hunt that I would get help from my partner, who was at 1st, even though he had a terrible angle. The only thing he could give me was that it hit the dirt, so the ball was within 3ft of the line. Result - fair ball, runner at 2nd. Coach Hunt came out calmly to discuss, and I was getting help even before he asked. While he didn't like the decision, he accepted it. Could he have blown his top - yes. Would it have done any good - no. The inning ended with no score (thankfully). After the game, I found out from multiple people on both sides, that the ball was about 3ft foul.

Well said and nice example, thanks.