CurryStopstheRuns":3ma1dk26 said:
Tical21":3ma1dk26 said:
The problem will all those K-Zone or whatever you want to call them is that they show what the strike zone is supposed to be. In actuality, pitches at that height have been called a ball 90% of the time for 20+ years. In that situation, against a division foe, I would have thrown a tantrum too. As a hitter, you're groomed to take that pitch unless you're specifically looking to turn on it. Was it a bad call? No. Was it unjust? Yeah, probably.
If you were groomed to take a borderline call with two strikes against you then you were poorly coached.
Punto is only 5'9", so I think the square of the K-zone is off to begin with, but regardless, that pitch was at the minimum 3-4 inches higher than what would normally be called a strike on him. At least 75% (I'd contend closer to 90%) of players in the major/minor leagues wouldn't have swung at that pitch, but also partly because of the tail that Rodney gets on it. If 75% of the hitters are poorly coached, I guess we have a coaching issue in this country. Hitters know they have to protect against low pitches, and pitches up to an inch or two off the plate, but have never had to protect against high pitches.