The umps on variable are dreadful

[Jr.]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

The rule, strike zone from the knee to top of the chest. Not sure if it's that way in the rule book anymore..but real umps won't call the high strike but here they do..with much more frequency.

As far as the top lowered, possibly, but then the chest high fastball becomes "in the wheelhouse"

Unless you mean just make the box bigger which is only beneficial to the pitcher.
1968 all over again..

I don't understand how lowering the top of the zone makes the chest high pitch in the wheelhouse.

[Mitchrapp]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

I don't understand how lowering the top of the zone makes the chest high pitch in the wheelhouse.

I first thought that it meant he wanted the strikezone to be smaller, i.e.. high pitches would now be balls and low pitches to be strikes..making the high chest pitch useless..ergo I would have to throw the fastball lower, wheelhouse. Then I realized I might of misinterpreted so I added the last sentence. Either way I believe the strike zone is perfect..

[Jr.]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

I first thought that it meant he wanted the strikezone to be smaller, i.e.. high pitches would now be balls and low pitches to be strikes..making the high chest pitch useless..ergo I would have to throw the fastball lower, wheelhouse. Then I realized I might of misinterpreted so I added the last sentence. Either way I believe the strike zone is perfect..

Ah, I gotcha. I agree that the top of the strike zone is a bit high. I believe the (unwritten) rule is the hollow of the knee to the naval (about 2 baseballs above the belt). My biggest pet peeve is the interpretation of the corners though. If the pitch catches any part of the plate (no matter how small) it's a strike. I understand these calls are missed, but I see them called balls much more frequently than called strikes, and I would like to see pitches that completely miss the corner by a couple of inches called strikes more often.

The trade off is that you need to be able to hit those pitches hard, which the game doesn't really allow. I'm of the thought that how the strike zone as a whole (how balls and strikes are called, and the quality of contact that can be made on borderline pitches) needs to be re-hauled.

[bwiggy33]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

What I've noticed this year is that where I'm squeezed is the left side of the plate (when the camera view is from the pitchers mound). I've been well inside the strike zone on that part of the plate and continuously get called balls on those pitches. This happens a ton during each game I've played. Sometimes I get a little bit more on the right side but that just seems random at best like many others are saying. I'm basically forced to pitch mainly on the right side of the plate because of how many times I throw strikes on the left side only to get them called a ball. I've always had Variable on but this is the first year that I am truly ready to turn it off. It's just so inconsistent and even though it's said each umpire has their own zone, I don't think they do or it's just not working properly. Honestly the last year I think variable has actually had each umpire having their own zone was in MLB 10. From MLB 11 on it has seemed off.

[kehlis]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

I first thought that it meant he wanted the strikezone to be smaller, i.e.. high pitches would now be balls and low pitches to be strikes..making the high chest pitch useless..ergo I would have to throw the fastball lower, wheelhouse. Then I realized I might of misinterpreted so I added the last sentence. Either way I believe the strike zone is perfect..

Sure it's perfect by the rule book but I haven't seen a letter high fastball called a strike in real life in decades.

I can assure you that the strike zone is not represented properly (with regards to height) as it is called by MLB umps.

[jsou4646]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

Strike and ball calls are way worse than last year. I would say last year was pretty close to great. This year not so much. I've laughed at numerous calls.

[bfindeisen]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

Would love to turn it off! Except I have tried all of the settings for many years and none of them call the strike zone properly. They all make blatant mistakes, no matter which setting you select. Very frustrating. I hate seeing a pitch catch none of the black and be totally in the strike zone and get called a ball.

I am one of the few people that believe the real MLB should do away with having the home plate umpires call the balls and strikes. Let the technology handle it and have the umpire still be there to read the recordings and make the other calls at the plate.

I had liked your post, but removed it after I read the part about doing away with real life umpires. The day that happens is the last day I watch a baseball game. Can we please stop trying to ruin a game that's been great for over 100 years?

[MLB14]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

Agreed, you can throw a pitch at the shoulders and have it called a strike.

The shoulders ? That's an exaggeration.

[ShaBoomer]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

...but I haven't seen a letter high fastball called a strike in real life in decades.

As is this.... In actual fact, you see them called all the time.

[ZachenFoot]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

I love the variable strike zone. It pisses me off when I don't get calls but it's also awesome when a slider misses the corner and gets called for a strike anyway.

I was playing Game 3 of the NLDS with my Cubs franchise and I had traded for CJ Wilson (wanted an extra lefty, playoff experience, and he was having a good year while Samardzija was not). It was a 0-0 score in the sixth and Heyward was at the plate. My first three pitches should have been strikes but they were all called balls. I walked Heyward, and then Andrelton Simmons hit the eventual game-winning home run right after.

It's frustrating when it works against you. But that's baseball, isn't it?

[kehlis]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

As is this.... In actual fact, you see them called all the time.

Show me one.

I saw someone in the Yankees-Cubs game today get mad about a strike being called slightly above the belt.

[bigwill33]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

I had liked your post, but removed it after I read the part about doing away with real life umpires. The day that happens is the last day I watch a baseball game. Can we please stop trying to ruin a game that's been great for over 100 years?

Like I said, I know I am in the minority, but that is how I feel. I can't wrap my head around the fact that we have technology that can instantaneously tell if ball is over the plate for a strike or not with at least 97% success, if not higher, and we insist on going with humans that score well below that rate.

My best friend fights with me over this and all baseball replay/tech stuff while arguing for the human element and I just say "hey, you need to have life saving brain surgery and the doctor performing it has a 85% success rate versus a computer robot that can do it with near 100% accuracy, which one do you choose?" I still haven't swayed him to my side haha.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't take the umps out of the game, they still would be needed. Even the home plate ump would read the results and call balls and strikes. They would look even less foolish than they do now when they are waiting to be told if they are wrong or right on a replay being viewed in New York. I just want the right calls. Having played sports all of my life and now working with them I am all for anything that increases fairness and improves the overall product for everyone equally.

That being said, I want the option to do that in the show. It is a computer game and it knows whether or not a guy is safe or out or a ball is a strike or not. I will more than gladly live and die by that sword. I am not asking for errors by players to be taken out or anything like that, I just want the umps to call the game correctly, realistic or not.

[bigwill33]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

The other major issue I have is that the game doesn't even handle the blown calls realistically. Like with a safe or out play if the ball beats the runner but the tag is slow I could see the runner being called out, perhaps.

And the worse is the balls and strikes! I see a slider go across the zone and then hit the black on the outside as it tails away or even lands inside the zone and the ump calls it a ball. No ump is going to call a ball that crosses over that much of the path of the plate and lands close a ball! Just like umps won't give pitchers that high curve that ends up landing in the top part of the zone in real life (this is usually a giant mistake pitch, but still). The game just randomly decides what is a ball or strike with no consistency at all. No consistency between pitchers, batters, pitches, handedness, anything! Any semblance of consistency that we see at all seems to be purely coincidental and if you play long enough (usually the next batter or inning) you find that to be the case.

[ShaBoomer]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

I see a slider go across the zone and then hit the black on the outside as it tails away or even lands inside the zone and the ump calls it a ball. No ump is going to call a ball that crosses over that much of the path of the plate and lands close a ball!

Just happened, Jays vs Red Sox, 1st out of the 5th inning.

2-1 slider that cut right across the plate and caught the inside of the corner. Called a ball. Even Sizemore thought it was a strike.

[The Chef]

Re: The umps on variable are dreadful

My only issue with the variable strike zone is its not anywhere near consistent between teams. I just finished a game where the outside corner was called a ball every single time, pretty consistently for me, yet the CPU got it called a strike every single time. The game ended on a sinker on the outside corner by the CPU, same pitch that was a ball for me the entire game. I can take it switching and changing as long as it effects both teams, my problem is it doesnt so much switch as its completely random as if the home plate ump changes every half inning. It takes all the strategy out for me as I cant ever rely on a certain part of the plate being open as next inning it will be a completely different part of the plate that is given more leeway.