The best thing to do to keep pitch counts low is call the strike zone that is shown in the book! These are high school kids, not major league players. Just because a ball is a little above the belt doesn't make it a ball, well technically it is still a ball.

Strike3

I have another umpire on my side.:thumb:

Remember the question you asked about the black part of the plate in another thread?

Yes, but the black, is NOT part of the plate. I don't think any coach would argue, if an Umpire would call it consistently.

 

Just playing devil's advocate here, but the fact of the matter is that the black is not part of the plate, so why change the rules? I don't think the strike zone becomes unduly tight simply by taking away a 1/2" border around the plate that the baseball rulesmakers never intended to be part of the strike zone. And yes, there are a few kids swinging 34" bats and above, but I'd bet the vast majority use something smaller (31-33").

 

Now, that being said, I don't mind a liberal strike zone in the slightest - as long as it is consistent from the first inning to the last. :thumb:

You're right, most in 33"-31" range. Consistency in a zone, is all everyone is looking for from an Umpire.

 

Couldn't agree more! Don't care if the men in blue call a high, low, tight, or even wide strike, just call it the same way for both teams for the entire game. Nothing worse for a pitcher, or even a hitter, to have to guess what a strike is, from innings to innings!

Agreed.

The best thing to do to keep pitch counts low is call the strike zone that is shown in the book! These are high school kids, not major league players. Just because a ball is a little above the belt doesn't make it a ball, well technically it is still a ball.

 

Actually a ball just above the beklt is a strike and should ALWAYS be called a strike if over the WHITE part of the plate. Here in the Ninth REgion our guys tend to be low ball strike umpires while when we travel we tend to see a higher strike zone.

If you lay a baseball so it lined up with the very edge of the white on both sides and measure across the plate is closer to 24" wide.

 

According to Julian KHSAA certified umpires are not to police the pitching rules. If we suspect something we are to start the process through the assigning secretaries to move it through to Lexington.

We have 2 kids already throwing 70 pitches, twice a week. They have been throwing since football season on their own. We have other pitchers that we limit to 35-40. When the basketball players come out, they will be far behind and will be limited on how many pitches they can throw untill they can build up their arm strength. By then we will most likely be outside in the cold instead of the comfort of the gym., which will slow their progress.

 

We don't have any black on our plate either.