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Guest Mike

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Guest Mike

Guest Mike

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14U.  Pitcher has a good mix of pitches and is doing a great job of keeping the other team off balance.  Do you all ever find yourself in a position where you are expecting a fast ball and get a breaking pitch and get crossed up?  I try not to guess but on occasion I find that a breaking pitch will catch me off guard and I'll ball it.

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noumpere
noumpere

You make a volump out of you and me?

noumpere
noumpere

Don't expect anything.

noumpere
noumpere

Some of us use "New York, New York" to help with the timing.  Based on an extensive test I just conducted at my desk, "Que Sera, Sera" would work as well.

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noumpere

noumpere

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10 hours ago, ElkOil said:

Great. Now before every pitch I'll hear Doris Day.

Some of us use "New York, New York" to help with the timing.  Based on an extensive test I just conducted at my desk, "Que Sera, Sera" would work as well.

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White47

White47

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Posted
3 minutes ago, Guest Mike said:

14U.  Pitcher has a good mix of pitches and is doing a great job of keeping the other team off balance.  Do you all ever find yourself in a position where you are expecting a fast ball and get a breaking pitch and get crossed up?  I try not to guess but on occasion I find that a breaking pitch will catch me off guard and I'll ball it.

We all do it from time to time, I'm Willing to wager even the MLB guys do. Just try to focus on tracking the ball. as long as you don't do it a bunch, don't let it eat at you. learn and move on. 

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LRZ

LRZ

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I don't assume, but, in the mid-innings of a showcase game, the pitcher threw a knuckleball. Even though it floated in slowly, it still disoriented me for a moment. I remember thinking, "What the hell is that? It's not rotating!" After calling the pitch, I said to the catcher, "You gotta warn me he's got that pitch!"

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scrounge

scrounge

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It happens to us all from time to time. If it's more than a pitch or two per game, though, you may have something systematic going on.

When it happens to me, it's usually because I either gave up on the pitch, went too quick, or got tunnel vision. No matter what, slowing down and concentrating - really concentrating - on seeing the pitch all the way through the arc to the glove has helped me get back on track. Consciously think of the last 10 feet of the ball travel.

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conbo61

conbo61

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17 minutes ago, LRZ said:

I don't assume, but, in the mid-innings of a showcase game, the pitcher threw a knuckleball. Even though it floated in slowly, it still disoriented me for a moment. I remember thinking, "What the hell is that? It's not rotating!" After calling the pitch, I said to the catcher, "You gotta warn me he's got that pitch!"

Same exact thing, right down to the conversation with the catcher, happened to me a few years ago.  Thought my head was going to explode.

Ever since I make a point of asking F2 if his pitcher throws anything "funky" I need to be aware of.

1 hour ago, Guest Mike said:

14U.  Pitcher has a good mix of pitches and is doing a great job of keeping the other team off balance.  Do you all ever find yourself in a position where you are expecting a fast ball and get a breaking pitch and get crossed up?  I try not to guess but on occasion I find that a breaking pitch will catch me off guard and I'll ball it.

For me, it happens more often the first time the pitcher throws it.  After that I have a sense of the quality and "action" on the ball.

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Guest Mike

Guest Mike

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Posted

OP.  It's not even a per game thing. More of on occasion but it kinda bothers me that I freeze on occasion.   Probably a momentary loss of concentration as mentioned above.

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beerguy55

beerguy55

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Posted

My assumption is this just comes with experience.  I've seen umpires actually verbalize balls and strikes before they crossed the plate, so they're obviously developing an early opinion, and then sticking with it.  And just anxious to make their call.

And it shouldn't surprise anyone.  A batter needs to determine if a pitch is a ball or strike when the ball is still at least 30 feet from the plate, so I have to assume an umpire (especially one who plays/played the game at any level of competitiveness) is doing it too, almost instinctively.

As a catcher, after having my pitcher's fastball drift back six inches to cross the plate to be called a ball, I have, while staying in my crouch and not turning around, just said "Blue, this pitch has some movement, don't give up on it too early."  After that, things typically improve.  

 

 

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catsbackr

catsbackr

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1 hour ago, ElkOil said:

I never assume or try to guess. In fact, before pitches I'll say to myself, "It'll be whatever it'll be."

I'm calling BS on this, Elk.:rolleyes:

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ElkOil

ElkOil

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, beerguy55 said:

My assumption is this just comes with experience.  I've seen umpires actually verbalize balls and strikes before they crossed the plate, so they're obviously developing an early opinion, and then sticking with it.  And just anxious to make their call.

What you're seeing is very poor timing, which is something not born of experience, but rather bad habits. Umpires whose timing is too quick tend to have inconsistent strike zones. It's a trait we try to avoid and can track many problems' source to being too quick (whether behind the pate or on the bases).

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conbo61

conbo61

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, ElkOil said:

I never assume or try to guess. In fact, before pitches I'll say to myself, "It'll be whatever it'll be."

Que Sera Sera...

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conbo61

conbo61

Posted
Posted
21 minutes ago, ElkOil said:

Great. Now before every pitch I'll hear Doris Day.

My work here is done...

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stevis

stevis

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, ElkOil said:

Great. Now before every pitch I'll hear Doris Day.

Go for Morris Day.  Or Otis Day.

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MT73

MT73

Posted
Posted

No. Never.

When I first started umpiring I was pleasantly surprised that I could call a curveball without any trouble.

My real test came in my second year when, in a men's baseball game I was calling, one of the pitchers was a former AA player.

As long as you track the ball all the way into the catchers mitt ( naturally this is easier said than always done) and do not anticipate which pitch is coming ( luckily I am not that baseball savvy to anticipate) this should not be a problem.

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Stan W.

Stan W.

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, LRZ said:

I don't assume, but, in the mid-innings of a showcase game, the pitcher threw a knuckleball. Even though it floated in slowly, it still disoriented me for a moment. I remember thinking, "What the hell is that? It's not rotating!" After calling the pitch, I said to the catcher, "You gotta warn me he's got that pitch!"

I had the exact same thing happen to me.......kid threw a quality Knuckleball..........caught me flat footed.... 

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ElkOil

ElkOil

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, noumpere said:

Some of us use "New York, New York" to help with the timing.

Yeah, okay... but which version -- the Frank Sinatra one or the Liza Minellii one?

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noumpere

noumpere

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, ElkOil said:

Yeah, okay... but which version -- the Frank Sinatra one or the Liza Minellii one?

One for baseball; the other for softball.  I'll let you guess which is which.

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