why didn't i get the memo

Did you also convey this strike zone to your hitters?

quote:

Originally posted by trojan-skipper:
The belt is no longer in the strike zone. The inside half is no longer in the strike zone. The left handed batters box line is in the strike zone about 65% of the time. (with a rh batter; with a lefty a coin toss is/would be more accurate)

Hopefully none of you guys got this memo either but trust me there are a lot of guys out there in your brotherhood that are living by it.

Any thoughts?

Gross generalization. I have not seen in this in my "brotherhood".

When this happens it is not a result of a conscious decision to create or change the strike zone. It is the result of bad mechanics convincing the umpire he saw something that did not really occur.

Training will fix this. Harping that they are changing the strike zone will not.

We began videoing our umpires three years ago. It has had an amazing effect. Before, when we told an umpire he called a pitch in the dirt a strike, he wouldn't believe us. He knew the strike zone and wouldn't call a pitch in the dirt a strike...knnowingly. What the video does is help us show him that he isn't seeing the pitch right and then we can find out the reason why and fix it.

Maybe we should call them from the dugout.. must be a better view

Did not an umpire on here post earlier that they were given orders prior to gametime as to what the strike zone was for that day?

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
Did not an umpire on here post earlier that they were given orders prior to gametime as to what the strike zone was for that day?

I don't recall that. Perhaps someone posted that, I don't know. But that wouldn't change this thread, I don't believe. I doubt very seriously any League or umpire official would tell an umpire to ignore half the plate.

EVERY time I've had a coach make a request about the strike zone he asks to increase it, not decrease it.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimmy03:

EVERY time I've had a coach make a request about the strike zone he asks to increase it, not decrease it.

Always. And it's usually because he's had to endure some brutal games from a too-tight zone. I also believe that poor game management skills - failing to keep hitters in the box, calling time unnecessarily, allowing players to chase dead balls, etc. - can lead to the perception that the strike zone caused a 7-inning game to take more than 3 hours to complete.

good points dash.

From a coaches standpoint one really tough thing about the tiny strike zone is it makes it very rare for a 7 inning complete game under 100 pitches.

I guess I dont get it....Im not giving up half of the strike zone,.....darn video proves I love calling that inside knee high pitch a strike......

I'm with PIAA, I'm not giving strikes away. I will call all of the zone I can. Bad mechanics can lead to some of what you speak and if you are a coach you need to bring it up to the assoc trainer. Now how do you know for sure this is happening? If you are getting reports from the catcher then it is probably accurate. If it is from the pitcher, they are weird and they lie. If you are judging from the dugout then you really can't tell.
Is this an assoc wide thing you are seeing or a choice few?

I'm not exactly qualified to comment on mechanics, but I will offer this observation...

I've seen the HP set up behind the C, no matter where the C sets up. If the C takes two strides to the right, the HP goes with him.

I've seen many pitches where the HP's left eye is on the RH batter's outside corner. This just doesn't seem right, safe but not right...

quote:

Originally posted by JMoff:
I'm not exactly qualified to comment on mechanics, but I will offer this observation...

I've seen the HP set up behind the C, no matter where the C sets up. If the C takes two strides to the right, the HP goes with him.

I've seen many pitches where the HP's left eye is on the RH batter's outside corner. This just doesn't seem right, safe but not right...

What's a HP?