How To Use The Strike Zone To Your Advantage When Pitching In College Or Pro Ball

Most people don't think of the strike zone as a "physical thing," but it might as well be. Just like the distance to the left field corner, the strike zone has a measurable quality. The pitcher has to know the zone.

The current strike zone, as defined by MLB rules, has the top, technically, mid-way between the shoulders and the belt, and the lower end at the bottom of the knees. That's generally what I saw in college and pro ball.

Realistically, though, I'd say that the highest you see a strike called on a batter today in college and pro ball is mid-thigh. That's the upper end of the strike zone. And that's when he's in his batting stance, not when he's standing up straight. Some batters really crouch down. The lower end of the strike zone is to about the bottom of the knee cap.

It's also important to remember that each umpire has his own idiosyncracies. All of them have their own tendencies, places where they like to best see the ball.

Just like I used to keep charts on all the hitters I faced while pitching in the Chicago Cubs organization, I also kept charts on umpires. We had the same ones over and over, and it was advantageous for me to know the tendencies of whoever's behind the plate for a game. Especially when I was coming in from the bullpen to close it out. It let me know where I could go for strikes.

Does this umpire call more strikes in on a lefthanded batter or away from a lefthanded batter? I learned that you don't fight that, you respect it. You pitch to it. That's how you win ball games.