Recently we have been getting some comments about the strike zone. Every year there are valid questions on what is and what shouldnt be a strike.....Now I'm not going to answer every question with this thread, but I thought it might be a good start to generate some understanding....

Understand that this is my thoughts, and my experiences and they are coming from an active working umpire, and not from a strict clinician point of view.....

The strike zone is:

If you can imagine an invisible floating column, 17 and a half inches wide that extends from a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and at the lower level is the hollow beneath the knee cap. The zone is determined by from each batters stance as the batter is prepared to swing at a pitched ball

So as we know the strike zone changes for a 5'6" batter to a 6' batter...... Calling balls and strikes consistently is the goal. I hesitate to offer this statement since usually this is the Childs way out, but I will offer that it isn’t as easy as it seems.....But I will guarantee you that I will keep trying to get better.......

All of this adds to each umpire having their “own” zone....even as we all try to adhere to the rule book definition. I believe that serious umpires all try to call the strike zone as described in the rule book. Going back on my training, I can tell you based on video proof, that I call the borderline pitch inside and low a strike, but the outside and up pitch a ball.....now that is defining "my zone" over the strict rule book zone....that isn’t an arrogant notion on my part. It is just what happens when I am behind the plate attempting to judge a 3 dimensional strike zone that changes based on the batters height. Don’t know, not sure what I can do as a human to improve on that.

I try and keep as consistent a zone as possible to avoid problems, but it is what it is. Its a condition of my height, my stance, my experience and probably a hundred other factors.......I keep working to refine my zone to fit into the rule book, but truth be told, I probably wont ever get it book rule perfect.....

At my last clinic I attended, the ideal strike zone was described as an egg………more narrow up high and wider as you go lower then tapering back in at the bottom. This is a result one of those Computer tracking tools that find the optimum zone. I’ll never get to work with that level of technology but I would sure love to use it as a training tool.

People often ask about the Black and is it a strike ……In my world it is….. In higher baseball the black beveled edge is not even visible since it is buried below the ground. But most certainly at the most levels of baseball the black is absolutely considered part of the plate for the purpose of calling balls and strikes....

I do my best to contain my zone inside/outside, but in calling the black a strike, part of it has to do with the fact that the black is a half inch wide and the baseball is 3inches wide...a ball passing over the black can also be in the zone....asking amateur umpires to not call the black and Youth pitchers to not expect the strike call on the black is not realistic.

The vast majority of umpires, players and coaches expect a minimum of a ball width on the edges of the plate to be called a strike......

It is my hope that most players are not encountering the "Eric Gregg" zones..., a ball off the plate is not what I would constitute as a gross misses......But if a command pitcher has hit the zone all day, do they get that strike?.......probably.....but not as arrogantly intentional as you might think...a good pitcher/catcher widens the zone with good mechanics......

Hope this helps you see my view....Calling a good strike zone is where an umpire makes his reputation and it is something I work hard on.........Despite all our efforts, I feel there will always be some variance.......but I will try to get better......if at any time I feel I am doing "good enough" and fail to work on refining my game......I will call it a career.......

All I ask as a coach is that the strike zone stay the same during the game and not "float"---we can learn to adjust but only if the zone stays constant during the game--we will worry about the zone in the next game when we get there

The great part about baseball is that each game is different and the team that learns to adjust, both on the mound and at the plate, the quickest will have the advantage. This becomes quite important when you travel from state to state like we do.

piaa-ump you have a pm

Total aggreement with piaa_ump on his post. My zone is a ball width and a stitch wide off the black, and mid-chest to knee-hollows vertically. To me it's a 3-D plate-shaped box over the plate that tapers at the top, especially close inside, and up and away. If a pitch "nicks" that box, it's a strike. I do give due respect to knees on the corners.

At a tournament last weekend (12U-14U... really good teams), late in one of the last games, a new pitcher tossed 3 consec balls in the same exact spot just off the outside corner. He hit the target perfectly, but still outside. At the half-inning, the O manager, as he was heading to the 3B coaches box, politely asked about them. After I told him they were outside (I was being nice that day!) he felt that his pitcher should've gotten the calls because he was banging the target. In my eye and mind, each one was just barely an inch out of my zone, but I didn't tell him that. All I said was, "Coach it's been the same zone all weekend."

After the game, he said that I had one of the tightest (most consistent) zones he had ever seen and he wasn't used to that.

Tonight league play starts, and I'll see the same team tonight and all summer. Yay. Will I give that kid that pitch? Maybe... if he can bring it in just a little to show he's adjusting. But I'm doing him no favors.

Later, in this same thread, I have a couple "Zone Abuse" scenes.

a P.S: What TRhit said is SO true. One of the coolest comps an umpire can get from the coaches is that your zone was consistent and didn't waver. The really good teams will acknowledge that every umpire is a little different, and the teams that make the adjustments both on O and D from game-to-game, get a lot of trophies.

Roger

We have been over this ground many times before on this website. There are many older posts that anyone interested in what I really think about this can look up. But nobody will.

I am 61 years old. I have played, umpired, managed and coached baseball since I can remember.

I will ask this one question of those of you who have made statements so far and those to come on this thread. If you consistently call a pitch MORE THAN TWO BASEBALLS off the black [inside, outside or both, you pick] a strike and simply say, "it's my strike zone and its been that all game/day/week/month/life" AND YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE CALLING A STRIKE MORE THAN TWO BASEBALLS OFF THE BALCK do you actually feel that you would be giving the position players who came to play baseball that day a fair game of baseball? Likewise, if you are consistently calling every pitch above the kneecap a ball do you actually fell that you would be giving the pitchers who have to pitch inside that zone a fair game? Would you answer be the same if Team A had a groundball pitcher and Team B had a high heat flyball pitcher?

And don't give me a song and dance about how they can adjust to whatever you do because the fact that either the hitters or the pitchers have to adjust their game plan to cope with the kind of strike zone I have used as an example should give you a hint on how I would answer the above question. But I remain curious as to how other's think.


TW344

I agree completely. 2 baseballs in or out is too much. The purpose of a wide (not tall) zone is to get them swinging the bats and avoid a walk-a-thon, not to give a mediocre pitcher 15 Ks.

quote:

If you consistently call a pitch MORE THAN TWO BASEBALLS off the black [inside, outside or both, you pick] a strike and simply say, "it's my strike zone and its been that all game/day/week/month/life"

I have not said this..............


what I have said is:

That I try to call the rule book zone to the best of my ability.... However that given the limits of my talent, ability, stature and many other factors, I may never get there.....

I also state if I ever get to a point where if at any time I feel I am doing "good enough" and fail to work on refining my game......I will call it a career.......

quote:

If you consistently call a pitch MORE THAN TWO BASEBALLS off the black [inside, outside or both, you pick] a strike and simply say, "it's my strike zone and its been that all game/day/week/month/life"

I did not say this either. Doesn't really make sense to me. If I do ever expand the zone a little to avoid the "walkathon", it does get slightly wider. I rarely have to though, and it's usually only in younger divisions. For kids in our upper leagues and HS levels, the pitchers need to learn how to throw strikes. If they can't, perhaps he needs to re-eval his position choice. I don't believe I'm there to do what could almost be playing favorites and affecting an outcome because F1 can't find the zone. In the case I mentioned earlier (3 balls outside), could I have stretched out the zone a little... then a little more... then a little more? Leave the pitcher hoping that I'm going to "give him one" in a tight game? Or do I keep my zone steady and hope he can adjust without getting pounded?

I believe that a steady within the rulebook zone is best. At my main summer gig, I get the same teams night after night all summer long. I get to know all of the catchers and pitchers pretty well, it doesn't take them long to figure out where the zone is, and as the summer moves they (and the coaches and parents) count on me to keep it solid.

Like piaa, I only can do the best I can, and always concentrate and work on getting better.

I agree with PIAA and others about the zone. I don't call nor condone a really wide strike. If it hits the plate at all then it's a strike and this will give that ball off. Anything more than that is not hittable ,is not a strike and shouldn't be called. Many catchers will slide out and try to get a batter to chase a wide pitch with two strikes. I don't care if the pitcher pops the glove or not, if he goes beyond my view of the zone then it's a ball.
Height, plate stance, catcher's position, and batter's position can all affect our view and perception of the zone. If the catcher makes us slide up to see then we have a different view than what we like.

I've said this before. Coaches all the way up to NCAA EXPECT pitches a few inches off the plate to be called strikes. The only place you will find a 17" plate is in the major leagues. If you aspire to higher levels of umpiring, I guarantee your instructors and evaluators will tell you to call more strikes. It makes for a better game.

I've seen too many umpires call a very tight plate, but call strikes on pitches at the top of the letters. Any good hitter will tell you - it is MUCH easier to hit a pitch 2-3 inches off the plate than some cheddar up there. And the hollow of the knee is a great place for a pitcher to live. I know purists will take some shots at me, but that's the way it is.

Agree a strike is a strike...that's why we have a 10 run rule.

quote:

Originally posted by dash_riprock:
I've said this before. Coaches all the way up to NCAA EXPECT pitches a few inches off the plate to be called strikes. The only place you will find a 17" plate is in the major leagues. If you aspire to higher levels of umpiring, I guarantee your instructors and evaluators will tell you to call more strikes. It makes for a better game.

I've seen too many umpires call a very tight plate, but call strikes on pitches at the top of the letters. Any good hitter will tell you - it is MUCH easier to hit a pitch 2-3 inches off the plate than some cheddar up there. And the hollow of the knee is a great place for a pitcher to live. I know purists will take some shots at me, but that's the way it is.

I had admiration for you until I saw this dribble. Let me set everyone correct. The plate is the plate.

NFW

quote:

Originally posted by POLOGREEN:
Agree a strike is a strike...that's why we have a 10 run rule.

Well said, Pologreen. I receive emails and in one of them dash riprock ripped us (he is on my Ignore List for being a troll and I never see his posts; a friend emails me with them) expressing in his callous ("No "F" Way) that the plate is whatever he feels like it should be. . I have had this argument with him on other forums, he does not understand if you make up the rules as you go along, then there are no rules.

FYI Dash and I get along butI do tire of having to carry him

quote:

Originally posted by dash_riprock:
I've said this before. Coaches all the way up to NCAA EXPECT pitches a few inches off the plate to be called strikes. The only place you will find a 17" plate is in the major leagues. If you aspire to higher levels of umpiring, I guarantee your instructors and evaluators will tell you to call more strikes. It makes for a better game.

I've seen too many umpires call a very tight plate, but call strikes on pitches at the top of the letters. Any good hitter will tell you - it is MUCH easier to hit a pitch 2-3 inches off the plate than some cheddar up there. And the hollow of the knee is a great place for a pitcher to live. I know purists will take some shots at me, but that's the way it is.

In your fantasy world, dash, where you see yourself as a . This is NOT the way it is. Please produce these good hitters ALL who say.

quote:

The strike zone is:

If you can imagine an invisible floating column, 17 and a half inches wide

I am sure you mean well but this is wrong, dead wrong. Please correct.

quote:

I am sure you mean well but this is wrong, dead wrong. Please correct.

I'm open to hear your interpretation.....

Being an umpire and a coach. If you can change the strikezone versus what the rules say, can you change other rules to fit your philosophy. I have had guys tell me that the balk rule means this or that and end with "I don't care what it says, that is what I will call." That is wrong for the players, coaches, fans, parents, and other umpires. The rules are written to be followed. I help coach 8U. A little kid's strike zone is the same as a big kids. Knees to chest, plate width. I do not believe you add or subtract from it. If you can't follow the rules as written, you should not be umpiring.

Jeff Connell: are you saying that the strike zone for 8U is the same as it is for MLB? Good luck.

Getting the strike zone "right" for the little guys is always a problem. If you don't open up the zone they'll walk all day. If you do open up the zone you'll call kids out on pitches they can't reach. Not much worse than having a little guy who knows the strike zone look back at you with a hurt look in his eyes because he knows the pitch you just called him out on was outside. It doesn't help that you've called it the same for everyone else.