Baseball followers/fans, have you been watching closely your team? Like it's pit

1. 71

   Cagsilposted 13 years ago

   Baseball followers/fans, have you been watching closely your team? Like it's pitching staff?
   
   Seriously folks, are the Umpires really doing a good job at calling strikes and balls(the one thing you cannot or not allowed to argue)? I kid you not, I was watching several games lately and the umpires are all over the place, seemingly unable to distinguish what is a ball and what is a strike? Anyone have info?

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2. 61

   Thesportsbuffposted 13 years ago

   Baseball has tried to get a common strikezone in place but it still seems as though umpires are allowed to create their own strikezone and the players must adjust to it. It would really be nice if they would step in and force umpires to be more consistent in their calls so that players and fans don't have to play a guessing game but for now baseball seems to be siding with the umpires.

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3. 60

   Nickaloochposted 13 years ago

   different strike zones will always seem to be an issue but i dont think this season has been to bad. then again i bleed red for my philadelphia phils, and they have the top pitching staff in the MLB so of course I wouldnt see to big of an issue with the strikezones.

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4. 59

   DJProfessorKposted 13 years ago

   The height of the strike zone varies. The width of the zone is supposed to be about 22 inches wide.
   
   18 inches for the width of the place, plus less than 1 ball width on each side (the other 4 inches/2 on each side). However, it's down to the umpire's perception of the strike zone.
   
   The White Sox have been terrible with relief pitching, finding a closer has been less than easy.
   
   Matt Thornton has been wild all year, but has the stuff to be a big time closer. It's in the hands of Sergio Santos right now but I don't know if he's made to be a closer. I see him an 8th inning Setup man instead.

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5. 84

   adjkp25posted 12 years ago

   Every Major League umpire has their own variation of the strike zone.  I know it can be frustrating but it is the human element in the game; short of putting a robot back there options to standardize the strike zone are going to fall short.
   
   For me I just want an umpire to be consistent.  If a low pitch is going to be a strike, call it all game long.  When I was a player, and now as a coach, an inconsistent strike zone is one of the more frustrating things in a ball game.
   
   Overall I was really disappointed with the umpiring effort displayed in the 2011 postseason.  I watched a bunch of games, from both leagues, and I was upset at the lack of consistency in the games.  The strike zones were all over the place and the base umpires were not immune from bad calls too.  It is hard to see a game’s outcome change because of a bad call, especially when the games are so crucial like in the postseason.

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6. 71

   Bruce A. Beaudetposted 12 years ago

   If you are referring to Major League strike zones then, here are some of my observations:
   
   1) The strike zone on TV is deceptive as the viewing angle is often to the right side of  the mound.
   
   2) The catcher gives clues to the TV strike zone.  Generally, the zone is the area from the catcher's knees to his shoulders (rectangle) while in his crouch position (this a MLB strike zone). When the catcher sets up on either side of the plate the inside/outside corner will be the center of his body.  For example, if he sets up on the outside corner to a right handed hitter then, any pitch to the right of his centered body should be a ball.
   
   You couldn't pay me enough to be an ump!

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