OT: CT-RI LL regional
- Thread starter JSM1970
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That home run though from the pitcher was something. Agree calls weren't great but Rhody looked like better team...
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First off, in general umps/refs at the youth level are not that good. If they were good they'd be umping/reffing at a higher level.
I watch a lot of youth baseball since I have 2 boys. In general the strike zone is pretty liberal from every ump. Some worse than others. They do it on purpose to keep the games moving. Nobody wants games with a million walks. These are 11 and 12 year old kids and not major leaguers so their control isn't pinpoint like major leaguers.
As a coach all I ask is that they are consistent with their ball/strike calls on both sides. For example we had an ump 2 weeks ago that called everything a strike that was outside and low. Could have been 3 inches off the ground and 3 inches outside and it was a strike. Impossible to hit that pitch but the ump was consistent for both sides. If it was 2 inches inside and low it was a ball. At the letters and straight down the middle - a ball. After 2 innings we told the kids and instructed our pitcher to live outside and low. It is what it is.
I watch a lot of youth baseball since I have 2 boys. In general the strike zone is pretty liberal from every ump. Some worse than others. They do it on purpose to keep the games moving. Nobody wants games with a million walks. These are 11 and 12 year old kids and not major leaguers so their control isn't pinpoint like major leaguers.
As a coach all I ask is that they are consistent with their ball/strike calls on both sides. For example we had an ump 2 weeks ago that called everything a strike that was outside and low. Could have been 3 inches off the ground and 3 inches outside and it was a strike. Impossible to hit that pitch but the ump was consistent for both sides. If it was 2 inches inside and low it was a ball. At the letters and straight down the middle - a ball. After 2 innings we told the kids and instructed our pitcher to live outside and low. It is what it is.
Husky25
Dink & Dunk beat the Greatest Show on Turf.
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The strike zone at the Little League level HAS to be liberal (World Series Tournament or not). 6 inning games would last 3 hours if umps applied the MLB standard, which is probably what most are used to. All you should be looking for is consistency.
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Yeah agree on this. The problem I had coaching the kids was teaching them a strike zone which isn't real. The good players, kids you know would move on, were good enough to hit "balls" off the zone the other kids had not shot.
Don't agree with the strike zone but it is, as you say, a necessity. Problem is with many of these umps who really know nothing about the game, they have no idea when and where to make the calls.
It is what it is.
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