Atindell wrote:I'm not whining (you will disagree again i'm sure). I am specifically asking to call the strike zone as it is written. Under the armpits over the knee the width of the plate. That is any part of the ball, not all the ball.
Nobody calls the top of the zone anymore. It's under the elbows most of the time. Someone said earlier that they rarely call inside and I agree with that and not sure why since that is where the umpire slot is and easiest to see. I do see the low and away occasionally, but not consistently. Mostly I see umpires squeezing it vertically and less horizontally.
I wrote a long and comprehensive post on UCS about what people blame on umpires' strike zones that are exactly what "THEY" (meaning the NCAA) actually WANT it called that way. I didn't save it, and someone deleted the entire thread,
Short version; what you state is NOT the rule.book NCAA strike zone,
1) No river, no black. Some part of the ball must actually cross the white. Yes, we see the inside very clearly; what you think is a strike simply isn't according to what "THEY" want. Yes, it always has been; I/we wish it still was. It isn't now; and with TV and webcasting, we will be removed from conference staff (effectively fired) if we call the river.
2) Under the armpits over the knee; nope. Put your index finger at the V at the bottom of your cage, the sternum. On me, at 5'8", that's 6" above my navel. "The area above home plate between
the bottom of the sternum and the
top of the knees when she assumes her
natural batting stance. When the
top of the ball is on or withinthe horizontal plane .... NOTE: Home plate is the white rubber plate and
does not include a black border."
Translation to plain english; the
ENTIRE BALL must be below the spot 6" above the navel, and she DOES get credit for bending over if she hits that way. No armpits, no letters, not across the bosom; the top of the ball must not be even fractionally above the bottom of the sternum. The knees?? No, some part of the ball must at least touch the
TOP of the knee at the plate.
3) The strike zone must be judged at home plate, no matter where the batter stands. When batters move up (most do) or stay in the back of the box (some do), umpires have to project their sternum and their top of the knees to the plate. Drop balls become a challenge and appear to be inconsistent when it is done correctly.
Where is the zone?? Exactly as tight and tiny as the NCAA rule book defines it; and demands, through the conference coordinators that hire us that umpires enforce it.