How can the umpires tell the difference between a ball and a strike if they are behind the catcher??

Question

When you are watching a game on tv, you can clearly tell if a pitch was a ball or strike, but what about the umpires?? How do they know what type of pitch it is if they can't see where the ball is catched

Answer 1

We can tell the difference the same way you do. We watch the ball cross the plate. We are however in the best position to see both the plate and the batters zone. The camera angles from the CF camera are deceiving, and the side shots don't show the pitches relation to the plate.

Do you remember the "questec" that was used ? That thing showed that most MLB umpires would miss 2-8 pitches per game. Over nine innings, and 3 to 4 hundred pitches, that's a pretty good average.

A batter can "go down swinging" and miss 3 in one at bat!

Answer 2

A pitch is judged to be a ball or a strike when it CROSSES THE PLATE, not where it is caught. Setting up in the slot between the catcher and the batter, looking across home plate, it is very easy to see where the pitch is at that point. Incidentally, the hardest pitch for an umpire to call (especially without a lot of experience) is the outside corner.

Answer 3

The umpire does not make the call based on where the ball is "catched" (caught) but rather where it crosses the plate. Where the catcher's glove is when he catches the ball is irrelevent.

Back in the early days of baseball the umpire used to stand at a 45 degree angle from the batter about 15 feet away (behind)and call balls and strikes from there... this is much better.

Answer 4

The view from behind gives a better view than from the field. The umpire lines up his eyes at the top of the batter's strike zone to help him make the call.

Several years as an umpire.

Answer 5

It doesn't matter where it's "catched." It matters where it is when it crosses the plate. It takes a good eye and a good sense of spacial relations to visualize the strike zone.

And you can't always clearly tell whether it was a strike when you're watching TV. Certain lenses distort distance and angles.

Answer 6

They are able to see over the catcher. I believe they judge where the ball is caught by how its comin in over the plate and how the catcher moves his glove to react to the pitch.

Answer 7

Uh they can see. The catcher is bending down and the ump is over them. Not too difficult to see. But anyway.... no one is perfect!

Answer 8

Radar

Answer 9

Practice.practice practice

Answer 10

they are trained professionals...athough they do make obvious mistakes once in awhile...i think they do pretty good,n'est pas???