Musing of the Moment: A Rant & a Plea for Sanity for the Strike Zone and for Me

I will preface this musing (or rant) with the fact that I have umpired and probably will continue to umpire. I have simply umpired for our local rec league baseball either behind the plate or as a base umpire. 

Umpires have a difficult job. Lots of fans bitch and moan about calls. Coaches are sometimes dicks to them. Players have terrible body language after they don't get the calls they want. I've seen some terrible fan behavior to umpires. 

Some fans are just deplorable. 

For the past four years, I've been on the coaching staff of travel baseball team. And I don't understand what the hell has happened to the strike zone. 

The official definition of the strike zone from Major League Baseball is as follows: "...the area over home plate from the midpoint between the batter's shoulders and the top of the uniform pants ... and a point just below the kneecap." 

You can see for yourself by hitting the hyperlink above. 

So why in the hell are home plate umpires not calling strikes at the belt or above the belt to batters who are nine, eleven, fourteen, and sixteen years old? 

What are we trying to accomplish by not calling high strikes? 

I've seen strike zones called that are basically from the players crotch to his knees--balls to kneecaps. I'm in the dugout and can see quite plainly the vertical range of the strike zone. 

If a home plate ump calls high strikes, the game moves more briskly and the batters are more likely to put the ball in play. In addition, those strikes at the belt and above the belt are great pitches to hit. More balls in play equals more action and entertainment. 

There were umps out there this season calling a smaller vertical strike zone in 15u travel games than when you watch MLB baseball games. 

The common counterargument is, "Well, as long as the strike zone is consistent for both teams, that's fine." 

I disagree. A strike zone that small is shitty, dumb, and annoying. 

Having a consistently shitty strike zone is no way to play baseball. Go by the strike zone laid out by Major League Baseball. 

For me, I'm calling the zone from the midpoint to the bottom of the knees with a ball inside the plate and one or two balls outside the plate. And if a batter has two strikes on him and there's a borderline pitch thrown, the only walking he's doing is back to the dugout. 

I hope more home plate umps do the same.