Umpire strike zones

[logan82]

I haven't read the whole article yet, but a few of the names of umpires with the larger strike zones looked familiar.

 

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/a-zone-of-their-own/

[TooLiveBrew]

Thanks for posting that, logan - it was an interesting read. I've bookmarked it so I can refer to it in 2008.

[logan82]

I had to go back and check because the names sounded familiar and we had an no-star umpiring crew this weekend.(Wolf, Layne, Montague, Cuzzi) The strike zone today looked all over the place. We won, but it is never good to hear an umpire's name and think it is familiar.

[clancyphile]

And the Crew still took two out of three against the Mets...

[RJay715]

I thought the strike zones have been not only inconsistent, but small. Seems like a lot of the pitches that hit the corners are being called balls. Then again sometimes it seems as if pitches just missing the dirt are called strikes.

[endaround]

It was weird. Wolf had a huge zone until both starters got rocked, and then suddenly it shrank.

[pretendastronaut]

The strike zone was all over the place this weekend, I was surprised to not see a thread about this crew after Friday's game. Kapler had a strike called today on a pitch at was about at his ankles, and he was laughing immediately afterwards at the plate.

[logan82]

Cuzzi was the umpire that we had for one game in September last year, 9/24 I believe. He chased Fielder to the dugout. Wolf, the guy today, has a familiar name as well.(something about Florida I remember) Montague(and Layne I looked it up) were part of the umpiring crew in Atlanta at the end of last season. It seems like they stuck 4 great guys together this year.

 

Yeah I saw Kapler laughing too. That pitch was really low.

[Tbadder]

I'm getting frustrated again with umpires. The strike zone to me is starting to revert to the old low, wide zone rather than the high, thin strike zone. That being said I agree that Wolff (and I would contend others) change the zone as soon as a pitcher's strike zone efficiency or inaccuracy is established.

 

In addition I see the National League starting to neglect the inside strike/ball, while kinda giving the outside as an automatic.

[ejkumpire]

Having been a softball umpire for a number of years, I think one of the biggest reasons for umpire inconsistency is the fact they are bascally chickens. I was taught as an ASA umpire to establish a position with your eyes on the inside corner and at the top of the strike zone for a batter and stay there. I f the catcher moved outside, tough, you stay where you are. That is what equipment is for. If you are afraid to get hit, you shouldn't be back there. It seem to me that all these guys follow the catcher around and you can't be consistent if you look at every pitch from a different angle.

[wOOgiE22]

After watching the strike zone of DeMuth today I looked up the stats and sure enough he is consistent with having the smallest strike zone.

[bullox]

If you are afraid to get hit, you shouldn't be back there.

 

Easy for a softball ump to say.

 

[jason21nl]

If you are afraid to get hit, you shouldn't be back there.

 

Easy for a softball ump to say.

 

unless its fast pitch softball.

 

[logan82]

Interesting that everytime we seem to have an umpire with an inconsistent strikezone you can find him in the list in the link below. Should expect a small strikezone tomorrow is Randy Marsh is the home plate umpire.

 

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/a-zone-of-their-own/

[temke]

the minor flaw with this article is the idea of a normal amount of strikes called in a game.

 

this is the same flawed argument some people make about basketball officials calling fouls.

 

in a game between two aces, there will likely be more strikes called. in a game between two #5 pitchers, there will likely be less strikes called.

 

in a game between say wisconsin and northwestern, there will be less fouls called (mainly due to game tempo). in a game between two faster and/or more aggressive teams, there will likely be more fouls called.

[endaround]

Which is why they don't just look at one game but entire seasons worth of data

[areacodes]

It seem to me that all these guys follow the catcher around and you can't be consistent if you look at every pitch from a different angle.

I can't remember what game it was (it was on this roadtrip, I think it was the first or second game in St. Louis) where the ump was standing over the catchers outside shoulder with Rickie batting and then proceeded to stand over the inside shoulder for the other batters.

 

[logan82]

I have to admit making a mistake yesterday. I was thinking Meriwether when I went back to the article when in fact it was Wendelstadt behind the plate. Wendelstadt shows up in the top 10 for smallest right side of the plate. Interesting because he was calling the strike off that corner all day. I like how he handled Bako yesterday. Bako was given at least 3 opportunities to turn around and quit arguing. He also gave Fielder, Hart, and Braun(early in the game) a bit of leeway to argue balls and strikes without being confrontational.

[TooLiveBrew]

HP ump Bill Hohn has thrown out three guys in tonight's TEX-LAA game in Anaheim. (Bottom 8 right now)

 

The third (which just happened) was C Gerald Laird, who argued what appeared to be a good called strike 3 by Hahn. The problem I had with it was that Laird did his yapping, but was walking away. He turned around a couple times & gestured once (not obscene; was about the pitch's movement it seemed), but was walking back to the dugout the whole way. Hahn took a few steps to follow Laird (not close to him), and when Laird turned back to say something else, Hohn ejected him. This was all well after the called strike three -- Hohn had every chance to allow the player to just say his piece, and then put his umping mask back on & carry on the game. Instead, he dragged the situation out & appeared to bait Laird into ejection.

 

The other two guys that got run were LAA Mgr. Mike Sciosia & TEX skipper Ron Washington. The game notes say that Sciosia was ejected for arguing a call at 2B (I didn't see that one). I also saw the call where Washington got run, and it was a horrible check-swing strike call for strike three on Marlon Byrd. Byrd didn't come close to swinging, and Hohn made the call without asking for help. Washington yelled something from the dugout, because he was ejected before he ever even got out on the field -- initially it appeard Byrd had been run.

 

Now I do try to keep in mind that I can't hear what insults and choice words have been hurled at Hohn, but in the two ejections I've seen so far, he's handled himself very unprofessionally.

 

 

EDIT: Also, Hohn's strike zone has been terrible the entire time I've been watching this. The call against Laird just happened to look correct.

[TooLiveBrew]

As Gary Matthews Jr. walked back to the dugout after another horrible called 3d strike (not even close), Hohn stared him down as Matthews walked across the plate, and even took a couple steps after him. You could see Matthews's face the entire time, and he wasn't even saying a word... just shaking his head.

 

Hohn should be fined & disciplined for his buffoonery today. Embarrassing to anyone that officiates or has done so in the past.

[logan82]

TooLiveBrew wrote:

I also saw the call where Washington got run, and it was a horrible check-swing strike call for strike three on Marlon Byrd. Byrd didn't come close to swinging, and Hohn made the call without asking for help. Washington yelled something from the dugout, because he was ejected before he ever even got out on the field -- initially it appeard Byrd had been run.

That has to be one of my biggest beefs with umpires. Not asking for help from the 1st or 3B umpires. That along with tossing guys for arguing while walking away. There seems to be no accountability for umpires. If a guy is walking away while arguing he should be ok. If the guy stands there and argues that should be an immediate ejection. Just my opinion though.

 

That article I originally posted has been pretty interesting when looking at umpires this year. I hope they do it again with more of the stats shown such as how many pitches were called wrong. It would be nice to see who makes make up calls just to even things out and who calls a good zone. It would also be nice to see who tossed the most players. Some umpires are WAY to confrontational.

[dadofandrew]

I agree with both, umpires should never say a word to a player unless answering a question. They should have to fill out a 50 page report every time they eject someone...that would eliminate 99% of ejections right away. No one pays good money to watch some middle aged man show how cool he is.

 

They should bring these guys in for 2-3 weeks in the offseason and look at tapes. The lowest rated ones should be demoted annually. I don't care how strong the union is, if it is, because if you'd fire them all and start over, they could not be much worse.

[logan82]

I don't think it is a coincidence that the guys who seem to have the most inconsistent strike zones also seem to be the most combative with players.