THE STRIKE ZONE + How to improve accuracy! - Official Finders

THE STRIKE ZONE
This video will show you where the strike zone is, what it is, and how to improve your accuracy in calling pitches as an umpire.
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We care for the game, our officials, and the communities we serve. That spirit, equal parts passion and compassion, led us to found Official Finders in 2009. In the years since we've slowly but steadily built an organization that sources and trains officials that help struggling youth sports organizations. More than filling a job for a game, our mission is helping to create work with meaning.

[@DreadPiratePapa]

The Strike zone is above the entirety of the plate side to size and front to back. The strike zone is actually Three dimensional.

[@dperl5640]

Sir unfortunately some of this info is wrong. The strike zone is a 3 dimensional area covering the entire plate. Think a hologram that goes from all 5 sides of the plate into the air above the plate. Therefore, the ball does not have to cross the front of the plate to be a strike. It can cross anywhere over the plate (hologram) and, if in the correct height requirement, be called a strike. MAJOR difference especially as you get to higher levels where pitchers can move the ball sharply. Might wanna redo your video and add this important correction. Stuff like this makes it extremely hard for umps to make correct calls as fans / players hearing mis info. Even worse, young novice umpires might take it at your word and call a game like this! Please double check using rule books and case plays before making an instructional video. Thanks

[@1969EType]

The strike zone is NOT the vertical plane of the front edge of the plate! The strike zone is a 3D polygon! Any part of the ball over any part of the plate. Breaking pitches do not need to cross the vertical plane front edge of the plate. If a breaking pitch only goes over say the point of the plate, missing the front edge vertical plane and it’s within your upper and lower limits of your zone? That’s a strike.

[@MH-Tesla]

This is a great video. While I also disagree with the "front" of the plate, let's face it, that's what we see and recognize. At upper levels, umpires that don't use the catcher, especially if he's good, make a mistake. The guys that tell me a catcher can't present a pitch to influence them because they call strikes as they pass over the plate.... those umpires are 2 things. 1) wildly inconsistent. 2) ARE influenced by the catcher so much that they call balls strikes. Good umpires use the catcher, if he's good, too help them 1) be consistent, and 2) not miss strikes while also not calling balls strikes...except, obviously in rare situations as we all miss a few calls in a game no matter how good we are. A good catcher might get a couple more his way then a poor one. Actually, poor catchers lose strikes for the pitcher mote than good catchers get balls to be strikes.

[@djnjam9051]

What Rule book states that the strike zone is only at the front of the plate? It's 17 inches deep and any part of it is the strike zone. A ball can be slightly high at the front of the plate and be arching downward (curve, drop, etc.) and be a strike midway over the plate or at the back of the plate. I've seen high level fast pitch softball pitchers pitch a curve that almost hits the batter and curves back into the side of the plate very fast. A pitched ball can become a strike at any moment, anywhere over the whole plate.

[@mgcoleman]

In all my years, I have never once heard such emphasis about the front of the plate. Every good definition I have seen and every camp and clinic I have attended always noted the strike zone as the three-dimensional area over home plate that extends from the hollow at the bottom of the knee to a point at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants.

[@dogpatch75]

I like the idea of making an effort to improve knowledge, however this video does not do that. You need to be much more specific when creating a tutorial describing "strike zone". The definitions vary with the league. In high school baseball and softball, the zone's width is defined as the ball passing over any part of the plate. Therefore it is three dimensional and includes the 17" width of the entire plate plus 2x the width of the ball. It does not relate to just the front edge of the plate. The zone's height is correctly described here for high school baseball, but not correctly for high school softball where it is defined by the batter's forward armpit. It would be great to revise this video and include accurate comparisons so it does not perpetuate the bad information that is already so widespread. 🤔

[@ToadHallPub]

So we should reinterpret the strike zone based on the level of skill?

[@Joshualibbyy]

Angel hernandez should be taking this course

[@michaelgleason925]

Well done. Very helpful. Excellent graphics.

[@Remob4]

Fantastic videos -- sharing them with all of my youth Umpires!

[@michaelgleason925]

I just subscribed.

[@eman610]

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