It's supposed to be rectangular. Taller than it is wide. In practice it's a square. I base my statement on the evidence provided by questec, or whatever the electronic strike zone is called. You will frequently see balls that are inside or outside, often by the diameter of a ball or two, called strikes. You will also see, frequently, balls that are touching or entirely within the upper and lower limits called balls.
In other words, balls that are inside or outside are often called strikes, and the low strike and the high strike are often not called. Watch and you will see.
The umpire calling behind the plate in today's Red Sox game should be taken out and shot.
And the Red Sox look terrible. But at least we've got two third basemen.
4 comments:
In the games I've managed to see this year, the umpires have been just horrendous.
of course, so have the red sox.
I really do think they should switch to electronic ball/strike calls. As long as the technology is truly accurate.
But I bet there's an umpire's union who would throw a fit....
Does the electronic caller factor in the three dimensional character of the strike zone?
Sports networks no longer seem to show the overhead shots which captured say a curve ball that came back in over the corner to be a strike. (Or perhaps appeared to be headed that way but did not quite make it, and got the call anyway. As a viewer I am much less forgiving of a bad call I can see with my own eyes than of an electronic one, though most likely the latter is more accurate.)
Anonymous Yankee Fan
AYF,
Good point.
I don't know if it does factor in depth of the plate. But it is well to remember that the plate has only 8.5 inches of depth before it diminishes to a point. I submit that it is unlikely that the angle of the trajectory of the ball and the side of the plate is never more than a few degrees. It would surprise me if the ball could gain any more than half an inch of lateral travel over that 8.5 inches, making it a very minor factor. The pitches I am talking about are often 4-5 inches off the plate.
David Ortiz had a strike called on him last night that was a good four inches off the plate. This was verified by the overhead camera at the Rogers Center which I was blessed to see because I watch the opposing team's broadcast because NESN is soooo bad. Buck Martinez was a treat. I love his voice. But he's still not of the caliber of those MFY broadcasters.
And I've decided that the effective strike zone is actually circular as all the corners are cut off by the umpires.
Thanks for stopping by. Rare that a Yankees fan is anonymous.
Post a Comment