What has happend to the strike zone?

gopack49................

Your advice about hitting the first strike you see is right on. BTW, I must have missed any notice about where your son plays or will play in college. Let us all know,

Thanks,

.

 

Thanks for all the input, tips, and advice!!! We definitely will work on "strike" recognition and being aggressive early in the count.

 

There are too many variables that go into calling balls and strikes for 13yr olds-15 yr olds. Pitchers can't throw strikes consistently at that age so many times you end up having to make chicken salad out of chicken.....stuff. Unfortunately the parents, coaches, etc that complain the most and the loudest have never had the "pleasure" of having to try to make the most of it.

My other issue is kids will take a pitch down the middle, a pitch maybe a little off the plate but a hittable pitch, they are down 0-2 and swing at a pitch in the dirt or over their heads and than cry about the umpire screwing them out of an AB. Better yet, they'll take two pitches in the zone that they don't think are strikes and everyone tells them "that's not your pitch" and than swings at the pitch in the dirt or over their head for strike three. I've been umpiring a long time and until they are playing at a level where the pitching is "consistent" they need to just worry about hitting the first good pitch they see. Good umpires have very good consistency when they have good pitching. When you have a pitcher at 13 yrs old throwing a 47 mph cement mixer up there and a "fastball" that you have to put an algebra equation on to calculate the drop than you are going to have a difficult time as an umpire or hitter determining what you want for a "true strike".

If you think I'm full of it...PM Baylee Duckdog and ask him about my work.

 

+1

A Non E Mous is right and I can add my two cents just like Baylee. I hear that Baylee is currently overseeing the umpire bootcamp for next spring. Just kidding.......

Have had the pleasure of watching A Non for the last 5 years as my son has moved up through the Showcase ranks. Class guy behind the plate and in the field. A Non is an umpire's umpire who definitely knows the game and how it should be played. He's Johnny on the spot when it comes to making the right calls and keeping the game moving as best he can.

I guess if you're given lemons then sometimes as an umpire you have to make lemonade.

 

Thanks Texas----that's my new signature line

 

Phonetically speaking...

First question - is it OLE as in "old" or OLE as in "O-Lay - get your &%&$ out of the way"

Now that that's out of my system....

There is a reason arguing balls and strikes gets you banged at all levels. It's something you just can't do. I love the "K-Zone" in the big leagues but there is still a human making the final decision. The interesting thing about the K-Zone is that many of the K's look like balls until they put up the screenshot with the zone.

Some of the comments above are excellent - wish it was that easy. Best not to teach any kid at any level to blame someone else for his success OR failure. It's simply part of the game and excuses/reasons/stories don't put runs on the board.

There will always be inconsistent blues, whining kids and dad's who grade their own kid's paper too high. But that's what makes it fun! Just get over it, tell the kid to either swing it or sell it....or become a pitcher! Funny that a hitter's dad will say the ump is taking the bat out of his kids hand while the pitcher's dad says the ump is squeezing his kid. Same ump, same game, go figure. CONSPIRACY!

As for Anon's skills --- he's got mad skills! Plus he will bench press your scrawny butt if he wants to.... Seriously - he is always dressed professionally, in great shape, hustles and does his best to call a good game. One of the best in the biz.

And, OLE - give it up quickly or you will end up bald.

 

Is that lemonade thing sort of like the chicken salad/chicken...stuff thing?

Thank you for the atta boys. I guess the point I was trying to make is that as an umpire you have to find a happy medium between making sure the hitters can hit your "strike zone" and the pitchers can get enough strikes to stay in rhythm. I appreciate dads, coaches, moms, etc wanting to teach the game and teach plate discipline but unless you are going to take BP with Tom Glavine or Verlander you're not going to see enough hitters strikes at 13-15 to do that.

I work with my five year old and we take wiffle ball batting practice. I suck at pitching so his only choice is to learn how to hit different pitches to different places. I don't know how the heck he does it but when I buzz the tower and come inside he gets his hands around fast enough to pull the ball and get it off of him. He hits the outside pitch "behind" the runner and takes the pitch down the middle right back through the box. The only time I get on him is if he swings at a pitch in the dirt or a pitch way outside because he knows he can't hit that pitch. My philosophy is until, God willing, he's able to play ball at a high college level or a professional level he's never going to play in a game where the strike zone is 17 inches wide and knees to belt. He's going to have to learn to hit that ball that may be a ball and half off the plate because umpires are going to call it. He's going to learn how to hit that pitch a little down or a little up because some umpires are going to call it.

 

I do like irritating parents when the situation calls for it but it's not because I want to be noticed. Most of the time it's because they need to have someone have church with them to snap them back to reality.

 

Balls and Strikes

I have been around for a hundred years and when I was coaching I was in the stands thrown out 50 of them years! The srike zone is from one batters box to the other! Let me say that you still have some good umpires.A strike is a strike !! I hear umps say If I dont give 6 inches off the plate we will be here all night.The batter has the right to have strikes called that are strikes! As a ump when everybody in the stands are saying blue you are awfull, guess what you are awfull. I have been to games and nobody said anything! Guess what must be a good ump! I am not talking about all umps but most have not played and they do not know what a strike is! My 2 cents!!!

 

The strike

will defined by the guy behind the plate that day. All I ask as a coach is that it be consistent throughout the game regardless of the situation. If its a total blow out and the umpire comes over and says "I am going to open it up guys" then I have no problem with that. I tell the hitters whats going on and tell them they better hit the first pitch they can.

Every level is different. The higher you move up in the game the better the umpires are and the more consistent the strike zone is. What this means is the smaller the strike zone is and the more consistent it is called. Its the same with the players. The higher you move up the more disciplined the hitters are and they are more talented. The pitchers are more capable of hitting their spots, etc etc. This is not to say there are not some outstanding umpires at all levels of play. But the way the game is called is different for many reasons. Some already mentioned.

Teach your kid how to hit and then he has to learn how to adjust to the umpire that day. Its not the umpire who is going to adjust to your strike zone its you who will have to adjust to his. If the high strike is being called on everyone else guess what its going to be called on you as well. If that low pitch is called a strike with no strikes on you its probably going to be called with two strikes on you.

If a player see's that the umpire has a big zone then adjust. If he see's he has a small zone then adjust. Its a game by game situation. Lets be honest do we really want a ML strike zone at the youth level? Do we want a walk a thon at every game? That certainly will not help a kid learn how to hit.