Strike zone

[Baseball Purist]

Will the show ever implement a consistent strike zone? I mean every single game is simply CB Bucknor level bad behind the plate. Pitches that are completely in the strike zone are hardly ever missed in real life, but yet its hard to go a full inning without seeing this once in the show.

At this point should we not have consistent umpires? How hard is it to have specific umpires that either have a small or big strike zone. One pitch can be a strike, and then you follow up the next pitch in the same exact location and its a BALL?!

I think the biggest indicator in the strike zone logic needs to be reworked are the warm up pitches. Balls completely in the zone are often called balls, DURING WARM UPS!

[forme95]

Re: Strike zone

Does the real MLB have consistent strike zones? Do real life umpires make mistake calls? I think the strike zones in the game are perfect and don't need to be reworked or changed at all.

You can have actual perfect strike zones however. In settings, you can set umpires to direct I believe instead of personal. Ive never used the setting, but I believe it will call anything in the box a strike and anything out a ball.

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[Caulfield]

Re: Strike zone

I imagine we'll get perfect umps when real life baseball does.
That is to say, when humans stop making video games and Skynet starts.
I personally love it that the Show umps make me as mad as IRL do.

[Robo COP]

Re: Strike zone

feel like it's much improved this year

[Baseball Purist]

Re: Strike zone

Does the real MLB have consistent strike zones? Do real life umpires make mistake calls? I think the strike zones in the game are perfect and don't need to be reworked or changed at all.

You can have actual perfect strike zones however. In settings, you can set umpires to direct I believe instead of personal. Ive never used the setting, but I believe it will call anything in the box a strike and anything out a ball.

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Um yes, umpires have consistent strike zones. Some will call high, some will call low, small big.Do they miss calls, yes. My issue is, the shows umpire never have any consistency with their calls. To hear the commentators say, this is how so and so calls the game..to then watch them be utterly random on every pitch is just bad.

I dont want them to be perfect. Heck i dont mind bad called games. But pitch to pitch, inning to inning, its all over the place. Pitchers and batters look for the umps tendencies early in the game. In the show, they have no tendency. Its completely random on if it will be a ball or strike. Again the warm pitches illustrate this the best.

[forme95]

Re: Strike zone

Um yes, umpires have consistent strike zones. Some will call high, some will call low, small big.Do they miss calls, yes. My issue is, the shows umpire never have any consistency with their calls. To hear the commentators say, this is how so and so calls the game..to then watch them be utterly random on every pitch is just bad.

I dont want them to be perfect. Heck i dont mind bad called games. But pitch to pitch, inning to inning, its all over the place. Pitchers and batters look for the umps tendencies early in the game. In the show, they have no tendency. Its completely random on if it will be a ball or strike. Again the warm pitches illustrate this the best.

I understand what you are saying. I know what you mean also. Umps arent consistent though. Ive seen plenty of games (real life games just this year so far) where 1 pitch low and out is called a strike and the next pitch put in that exact area (and close to the same spot be called a ball and it was actually in the zone that time and closer to if not actually a strike. Umpires for the most part are all horrid this year. Which will lead to the "electronic strike zone" talk again. Which by the way, I am 100% totally against. Pitchers just have so much movement, that I can watch a catcher clearly move his glove 3 ft (maybe a slight exaggeration) and the umpire will buy it. But thats real life, and this is a game. So I will say, it does happen, but it may happen more in MLBTS. Im ok with it though. It makes the game a better challenge when the pitcher is trying to paint the corners and its a win some lose some. Its helped me and has hurt me.

[JayCutlersCig]

Strike zone

Will the show ever implement a consistent strike zone? I mean every single game is simply CB Bucknor level bad behind the plate. Pitches that are completely in the strike zone are hardly ever missed in real life, but yet its hard to go a full inning without seeing this once in the show.

At this point should we not have consistent umpires? How hard is it to have specific umpires that either have a small or big strike zone. One pitch can be a strike, and then you follow up the next pitch in the same exact location and its a BALL?!

I think the biggest indicator in the strike zone logic needs to be reworked are the warm up pitches. Balls completely in the zone are often called balls, DURING WARM UPS!

Strike zones in real life are inconsistent. One AB, I’ll find myself laughing at my own luck, and others, it’s cursing it. The Umps in this game have varying strike zones, which I absolutely love.


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[dazzelle]

Re: Strike zone

My issue is, the shows umpire never have any consistency with their calls. To hear the commentators say, this is how so and so calls the game..to then watch them be utterly random on every pitch is just bad.

Have to agree with this, a umpires trait/personality needs to be 100% accurate so as to distinguish them from each other.

The umpire in my last game was described as a offensive players dream as he squeezed pitchers east-west. I can't say that i saw anymore pitches that were 50 50 called strikes but i did notice when pitches clearly inside the zone were called balls.

[RainOnTim]

Re: Strike zone

You'll see pitches in the same location get called two ways during the same at-bat. That's not uncommon at all.

Personally, I think if you had 100% consistent zones then hitting would be way too easy.

[countryboy]

Re: Strike zone

Anyone else feel that pitch accuracy has something to do with it?

Example.

You throw a slider that ends up low and away part of zone where catcher is setup and you get the strike call. Throw a pitch that is say supposed to be inside that ends up in that same low and away part of the zone being called a ball because the catcher has to "go get" the pitch?

It's been my experience that this is the case at times. An accurate pitch is more likely to get the boarderline strike call vs that of a pitch that misses it's spot.

[dazzelle]

Re: Strike zone

You'll see pitches in the same location get called two ways during the same at-bat. That's not uncommon at all.

Yeah thats fine but i think there should be little variation when it comes to how they call the game regarding there tendencies.
If i am told the umpire has a skinny left- right zone and i try and hit the edges but keep getting more balls called than strikes i will need to change my tactics. Atm i am just not seeing the umpires umpire to there tendencies often enough to make me change the way i am pitching.

There is a umpire who the commentators say is completely random and you never know which way he is going to call a pitch, i dont think i ever heard about that umpire in past games so maybe they changed up a few umpires.

[underdog13]

Re: Strike zone

Anyone else feel that pitch accuracy has something to do with it?

Example.

You throw a slider that ends up low and away part of zone where catcher is setup and you get the strike call. Throw a pitch that is say supposed to be inside that ends up in that same low and away part of the zone being called a ball because the catcher has to "go get" the pitch?

It's been my experience that this is the case at times. An accurate pitch is more likely to get the boarderline strike call vs that of a pitch that misses it's spot.

Yeah, also I feel like guys with high k/9 get more calls

[Comduklakis]

Re: Strike zone

Anyone else feel that pitch accuracy has something to do with it?

Example.

You throw a slider that ends up low and away part of zone where catcher is setup and you get the strike call. Throw a pitch that is say supposed to be inside that ends up in that same low and away part of the zone being called a ball because the catcher has to "go get" the pitch?

It's been my experience that this is the case at times. An accurate pitch is more likely to get the boarderline strike call vs that of a pitch that misses it's spot.

And I'd argue that is true to life. I've seen the catcher get crossed up and have to reach back for a pitch right down the middle. Ump sees it look awkward and calls it a ball. Another time pitcher gets 6 inches off the black because the glove doesn't move and the pitcher nails the location.

It's why modern analytics studies and grades how well catchers "steal" pitches for their pitching staff. So to me, having a catcher reach outside because they expected the slider inside may fool the ump, just as it does IRL.

[Comduklakis]

Re: Strike zone

Yeah, also I feel like guys with high k/9 get more calls

again, true to life. Guys who are consistently around the zone, and who hit their spots, causing catcher's gloves to not move much tend to get calls IRL. A smart pitcher like a Greg Maddux would start on the black, then move another inch or two off every once in awhile until by inning seven he was hitting 6 inches off the plate and getting every call. Umpires often ump to expectations.

[KBLover]

Re: Strike zone

It seems, at least from the fangraphs data I can find, pitchers "lose" strikes more than they get "stolen" strikes.

Many locations in the actual strike zone are not called with consistency. Granted, the grid doesn't show where the pitch actually was, and, of course, every umpire has their own tendencies.

Then I found this:
https://www.bloomberg.com/businesswe...s/ranking/2017

Looks like umpires are between 85-90% accurate according to the data they are collecting.

Admittedly, I haven't used this feature in some years. Last time I tried it, it did seem completely random and, looking at that fangraphs data, it didn't seem to follow the IRL trend of the high/low corners being the most missed. It was just...where ever, apply RNG, call might or might not be right.

Now that umpires have tendencies, it would be interesting to see if they actually follow those tendencies, or is it still pure RNG. Then I read that pitcher ratings are impacting things? I think I'm glad I still have it off.

But, yes, umpires do call balls on clear strikes, and in some places more often than others.