re: The strike zone box in softball

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When I watch softball, that's not the box I'm thinking about

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Too bad most of the players are also thinking about said box

When watching the LSU vs Michigan game all I could think of was how terrible the umpire was if that box was accurate. Then today's umpire was just as bad or worse. I think all the box does is make the umpires look bad. Even the commentators were speechless over some of those calls.

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I watched it the whole game. The spot was where the catcher caught the ball. Everyone knows it's where the ball crosses the plate. The ump missed a few but don't they all?

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I thought the gal last night was significantly worse than the one today...no bias she was bad for both teams.

There was one sequence where K-Zone had all four balls as strikes and the ump called all four balls and the LSU gal got a walk.

I think a little human error is integral in baseball (probably softball too).

If the catcher is set up just wide and the pitch is so he doesn't have to move at all, you get a strike called a lot.
You make the catcher lunge, you usually get a ball, even if it's technically a strike. The umpire usually rewards control and punishes wildness. If you go 100% to digital/radar etc and remove the ump, you lose that element.

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The Box doesn't adjust for shorties like Griggs or someone taller

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That's why I said put sensors on the plate looking up (inside/outside vs over the plate), and some parallel sensors outside each batter's box, that align with something in the batter's uniform. You lock in the zone based on the batter's stance, and it will catch up/down.

It can be done.

It also wouldn't be as fun, and it would open up the door to "sensor-gate" scandals.

Best, in my opinion, to leave it in the hands of the umps, and leave them open to public (and official) scrutiny to ensure they aren't deliberately cheating on the calls. It's part of the game- pitchers figure out where they can push the zone, and batters figure out what they have to protect.

The marker in the box is where the ball crosses the plate, not where the catcher catches the ball.

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When I watch softball, that's not the box I'm thinking about

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The batter's box?

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you are referring to last nights game vs Mich I don't agree. The overlay was put in the right place but the centerfield camara was so far off center that it gave a false indication of the lateral position of the pitch. I think this would be better if you centered up the camera. I was appalled at the lack of calls on the low strikes last night so perhaps the elevation was an issue too.

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The amount of deviation caused by an off angle camera is a concept many people can not grasp. Prime example is the foul ball Brennan Breau missed in the SEC tournament against UF.
If you line the camera up dead center the pitcher is in the way. Thus the camera is probably 5 or more degrees off center. The greater the distance from home plate to the camera the greater the illusion.

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It just wouldn't be in the spirit of the game; perception of the pitch is part of the allure

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I agree.

We'd see a lot more walks as there would be less reason for batters to swing at borderline strikes.

I'd bet on there being stats that would support taking the risk of a called strike on any 3 ball count.

Nah..... You see the catcher move their mitt every pitch (I used to be a catcher myself) so it can be misleading. I thought the umpires have been relatively consistent. They miss a few (or maybe more) but for the most part I have no problem with it. If anything it's annoying for the fans. You see a pitch show up as right down the middle and the ump calls it a ball. However, on the positive side it does show the strike zone from one angle and that's a start. Don't see anything ever changing. Nothing (literally) to see here. Let's move on....