umps?

[wad]

Inapped,

Get a life. maybe at your job tomorrow someone will say " you were supposed to say Welcome to Wal-Mat" not Welcome you old fart. Some people have the courage to take a job.

[BigFly]

I heard that the 2 umpires in a Maryville game last week almost got into a fight on the field, with each other. They had to be broken apart by the coaches. Does anybody have any details?

[HighSchoolFanatic]

This is my 3rd yr of umpirin(1st in TSSAA) and I really love it. I finally realized that its not easy. By definition, the strike zone is the same from Little League all they way up to the Majors. I had a tight one in Little League. But I finally realized tha these pitchers dont need to be walkin everybody. The strike zone should expand from little league to jr high, coaches dont like a tight one. TSSAA supervisors tell you that coaches want umps calling strikes. Now college, minor, and major league strike zone is the exact same, because the umps are getting graded and noticed, and get to call at a higher level. My strike zone is, if I could hit it its a strike to certain extent. I miss ones all the time. The field ump told me one time to widen my strike zone when Team B is pitching, cuz of the score. I said "Ok, is it bad?" he said "its great, but their pitcher is wild, and he needs to learn, so expand it." I told him i said "well I missed that one pitch." He said "its ok, the only person that was perfect was jesus christ."

 

Remember coaches, fans, and players. Especially coaches and players

You guys make mistakes all the time, and have the worst game ever. The same goes to the men in authority, they have bad games. Just tough luck, you have to deal with it.

[catsbackr]

Generally, the younger the players, the larger the zone.

 

After you get to HS, pitchers should throw "book" strikes.

[1moreDBmom]

QUOTE(HighSchoolFanatic @ Apr 16 2007 - 02:21 PM) 826438655[/snapback].....The field ump told me one time to widen my strike zone when Team B is pitching, cuz of the score.....

 

 

 

Blue... I'm just a Mom so you can dismiss this if you want....but I think that field umpire that told you to widen your strike zone to help a team that had a wild pitcher and was behind on the score board is the very kind of umpire that this thread is ripping apart....

 

Giving one pitcher/team a wider strike zone then the other team is just wrong. As an umpire you are suppose to simply call the game and let the teams decide the score... you give one team an advantage over the other and YOU are deciding the final score of the game...

 

What if you do this "helping" for say 3 middle innings and suddenly the good pitcher has a bad inning....the score evens out and then the team you were helping brings in their ace and completely shuts down the team that was winning by a blowout earlier. The frustration you caused with the uneven strike zone causes the better pitcher to struggle and suddenly the outcome of the game changed because your calls frustrated a good pitcher and good hitters. So you were helping a struggling pitcher to make him feel like he belonged in a game...but what were you doing to batters? You are teaching them to just swing at good and bad pitches alike? Is that your goal? Make good pitcher out of struggling pitcher and destroy a batters ability to determine which pitch to swing at and which pitch to let go?

 

Something is very wrong with calling a game to give one pitcher an advantage over another at the High School level

 

Do that in the learning games down in the lower little league levels I completely agree...but not in 13 and up age groups. That little league mentality does not belong in High School umpiring.

[HighSchoolFanatic]

QUOTE(1moreDBmom @ Apr 16 2007 - 02:54 PM) 826438682[/snapback]Blue... I'm just a Mom so you can dismiss this if you want....but I think that field umpire that told you to widen your strike zone to help a team that had a wild pitcher and was behind on the score board is the very kind of umpire that this thread is ripping apart....

 

Giving one pitcher/team a wider strike zone then the other team is just wrong. As an umpire you are suppose to simply call the game and let the teams decide the score... you give one team an advantage over the other and YOU are deciding the final score of the game...

 

What if you do this "helping" for say 3 middle innings and suddenly the good pitcher has a bad inning....the score evens out and then the team you were helping brings in their ace and completely shuts down the team that was winning by a blowout earlier. The frustration you caused with the uneven strike zone causes the better pitcher to struggle and suddenly the outcome of the game changed because your calls frustrated a good pitcher and good hitters. So you were helping a struggling pitcher to make him feel like he belonged in a game...but what were you doing to batters? You are teaching them to just swing at good and bad pitches alike? Is that your goal? Make good pitcher out of struggling pitcher and destroy a batters ability to determine which pitch to swing at and which pitch to let go?

 

Something is very wrong with calling a game to give one pitcher an advantage over another at the High School level

 

Do that in the learning games down in the lower little league levels I completely agree...but not in 13 and up age groups. That little league mentality does not belong in High School umpiring.

 

This wasnt HS, it was Jr High. This took place in the 5th inning, and most coaches tell their kids to swing away in blowout leads. If the game gets closer, I just simply adjust the strike zone. Regardless, pitchers who struggle that bad need strikes. I wont do this on any HS level, but anything lower I will.

[Guest inappropriate87]

QUOTE(HighSchoolFanatic @ Apr 16 2007 - 06:50 PM) 826438861[/snapback]This wasnt HS, it was Jr High. This took place in the 5th inning, and most coaches tell their kids to swing away in blowout leads. If the game gets closer, I just simply adjust the strike zone. Regardless, pitchers who struggle that bad need strikes. I wont do this on any HS level, but anything lower I will.

 

a strike is a strike no matter what the score is. you dont take the bat out of a kids hands because the other teams stinks. its not the kids fault that the pitcher cant throw a strike so dont take it out on him either.

[1moreDBmom]

QUOTE(HighSchoolFanatic @ Apr 16 2007 - 08:50 PM) 826438861[/snapback]This wasnt HS, it was Jr High. This took place in the 5th inning, and most coaches tell their kids to swing away in blowout leads. If the game gets closer, I just simply adjust the strike zone. Regardless, pitchers who struggle that bad need strikes. I wont do this on any HS level, but anything lower I will.

 

 

QUOTE(inappropriate87 @ Apr 16 2007 - 09:20 PM) 826438889[/snapback]a strike is a strike no matter what the score is. you dont take the bat out of a kids hands because the other teams stinks. its not the kids fault that the pitcher cant throw a strike so dont take it out on him either.

 

 

 

I agree with inappropriate on this one Fanatic. If you adjust your strike zone to "assist" one side in order to make a lopsided game more even, and then near the end of the game you have to adjust it back to prevent from "throwing" the game the other way...well, your going to have to tell us how you know whether or not the other made a legitimate comeback?

 

So what if you made the game more interesting by "fixing" your calls to "help" the struggling teams pitcher. Have you ever considered what you have done to the batter that you are "cheating" in order to help that pitcher? You are teaching him to swing at things he will never be able to hit....then if he does not swing his coach standing in the thrid base box is screaming at him to get his bat off his shoulder....

 

This is not baseball, this is not fun for anybody, this is not "teaching" a thing to anybody, except maybe not to worry because if your not good enough somebody will be there to "fix" it for you.

[HighSchoolFanatic]

QUOTE(inappropriate87 @ Apr 16 2007 - 09:20 PM) 826438889[/snapback]a strike is a strike no matter what the score is. you dont take the bat out of a kids hands because the other teams stinks. its not the kids fault that the pitcher cant throw a strike so dont take it out on him either.

 

Young pitchers who struggle need strikes, im not gonna call 1 in the dirt or his eyes. Im just gonna adjust the zone by an inch or 2. All umps do tha in Jr High, at least most of them. With a big lead late in the game, coaches tell their kids to swing away.

[1moreDBmom]

QUOTE(HighSchoolFanatic @ Apr 16 2007 - 02:21 PM) 826438655[/snapback]......The field ump told me one time to widen my strike zone when Team B is pitching, cuz of the score. I said "Ok, is it bad?" he said "its great, but their pitcher is wild, and he needs to learn, so expand it." .......

 

 

 

QUOTE(HighSchoolFanatic @ Apr 16 2007 - 10:05 PM) 826438953[/snapback]Young pitchers who struggle need strikes, im not gonna call 1 in the dirt or his eyes. Im just gonna adjust the zone by an inch or 2. All umps do tha in Jr High, at least most of them. With a big lead late in the game, coaches tell their kids to swing away.

 

 

 

Nobody here has a problem with a 1 to 2 inch wider strike zone as long as it is the same both ways. We all know that high school is neither college nor MLB.

 

Your original post your said you were told by the field umpire to "expand" it "when team B is pitching" because their "pitcher is wild and he needs to learn"

 

All were saying at this point is what are you teaching the batters, the coaches, the parents and fans? That YOUR in charge and if you decide to CHANGE the outcome of the game you will? Do you realize that in many tournaments ties will send tournament directors to the scores to decide which team to advance? If you have tinker with scores by your officiating then what have you got?

 

Once again...widen the strike zone by all means but do it for both sides evenly... let both sets of batters struggle with your calls and not just the batters that are currently winning the game that you are now "adjusting" your calls to accomodate and even out the scoring a "little bit".

 

Am I alone in feeling this way? Fair is not fair anymore? When I was a teenager they still cut people from summer league ball teams... you went home and learned that you were just not good enough this year and worked harder to make it next year, and you got over it.

[wad]

QUOTE(1moreDBmom @ Apr 16 2007 - 09:18 PM) 826438977[/snapback]Nobody here has a problem with a 1 to 2 inch wider strike zone as long as it is the same both ways. We all know that high school is neither college nor MLB.

 

Your original post your said you were told by the field umpire to "expand" it "when team B is pitching" because their "pitcher is wild and he needs to learn"

 

All were saying at this point is what are you teaching the batters, the coaches, the parents and fans? That YOUR in charge and if you decide to CHANGE the outcome of the game you will? Do you realize that in many tournaments ties will send tournament directors to the scores to decide which team to advance? If you have tinker with scores by your officiating then what have you got?

 

Once again...widen the strike zone by all means but do it for both sides evenly... let both sets of batters struggle with your calls and not just the batters that are currently winning the game that you are now "adjusting" your calls to accommodate and even out the scoring a "little bit".

 

Am I alone in feeling this way? Fair is not fair anymore? When I was a teenager they still cut people from summer league ball teams... you went home and learned that you were just not good enough this year and worked harder to make it next year, and you got over it.

 

 

 

OK lets not have GAME MANAGEMENT. I'm all for seeing a team get beat 35-3 because their pitchers cant throw a strike. I take great pride in that. When I'm up 25 -2 I love to see my child at bat draw a walk and get that 26th run. it gets his on base % up and gets him an RBI. Get Real It's called Game management

[HighSchoolFanatic]

QUOTE(1moreDBmom @ Apr 16 2007 - 10:18 PM) 826438977[/snapback]Nobody here has a problem with a 1 to 2 inch wider strike zone as long as it is the same both ways. We all know that high school is neither college nor MLB.

 

Your original post your said you were told by the field umpire to "expand" it "when team B is pitching" because their "pitcher is wild and he needs to learn"

 

All were saying at this point is what are you teaching the batters, the coaches, the parents and fans? That YOUR in charge and if you decide to CHANGE the outcome of the game you will? Do you realize that in many tournaments ties will send tournament directors to the scores to decide which team to advance? If you have tinker with scores by your officiating then what have you got?

 

Once again...widen the strike zone by all means but do it for both sides evenly... let both sets of batters struggle with your calls and not just the batters that are currently winning the game that you are now "adjusting" your calls to accomodate and even out the scoring a "little bit".

 

Am I alone in feeling this way? Fair is not fair anymore? When I was a teenager they still cut people from summer league ball teams... you went home and learned that you were just not good enough this year and worked harder to make it next year, and you got over it.

 

The game is practically over, if it aint Im gonna shrink it. We are told by our supervisors to do this.