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Players getting agitated with perceived strike zone inconsistency
Matt Holliday was ejected by umpire Joe West on Tuesday night after a brief argument about a strike-three call, contributing to the end of Holliday's 45-game on-base streak, and within this clip, you can hear the usually understated Holliday yelling, "The strike zone's huge the whole night."
I have heard more complaints from players and staffers this year than in any year I can remember about what they believe is the inconsistency of the strike zone, especially how large they perceive it to be, with more strikes being called (in their view) off the outside corner.
Part of the reason for the growing tension is that now, in 2015, hitters can and will go back into the clubhouse and see the electronic data supporting their contention that a pitch was out of the strike zone. The other night, Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter kept repeating himself in a discussion with an umpire, saying over and over "That's not a strike."
It's increasingly difficult for umpires to maintain that yes, in fact, it was a strike, or the ball clipped the corner, given the technology that everyone now sees instantly.
The unhappiness within the game over this situation is rising, and in past years, you would dismiss this as part of the ebb and flow of the game. But new MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has demonstrated himself to be someone who will take action, relatively quickly. For example, the other night, when he was in the ESPN broadcast booth with Mark Mulder during the first game of the Milwaukee-St. Louis series, he was asked about the issue of pitchers using foreign substances, and he indicated that providing more of a tacky feel on the baseball was something that MLB intended to explore.
So if this persists, if the voices of the players and staffers grows strength, and examinations like this one, by Jon Roegele of The Hardball Times, continue to appear, something is going to happen. If MLB perceives this to be a problem, there is going to be action, there is going to be change, because the sport is becoming increasingly like everything else in this society, evolving faster and faster.
Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon got his money's worth in an ejection Tuesday. And the response to McClendon's rant from the home crowd in Seattle is part of the reason MLB will never put a stop to managers arguing with umpires. It's part of the show.
Matt Holliday was ejected by umpire Joe West on Tuesday night after a brief argument about a strike-three call, contributing to the end of Holliday's 45-game on-base streak, and within this clip, you can hear the usually understated Holliday yelling, "The strike zone's huge the whole night."
I have heard more complaints from players and staffers this year than in any year I can remember about what they believe is the inconsistency of the strike zone, especially how large they perceive it to be, with more strikes being called (in their view) off the outside corner.
Part of the reason for the growing tension is that now, in 2015, hitters can and will go back into the clubhouse and see the electronic data supporting their contention that a pitch was out of the strike zone. The other night, Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter kept repeating himself in a discussion with an umpire, saying over and over "That's not a strike."
It's increasingly difficult for umpires to maintain that yes, in fact, it was a strike, or the ball clipped the corner, given the technology that everyone now sees instantly.
The unhappiness within the game over this situation is rising, and in past years, you would dismiss this as part of the ebb and flow of the game. But new MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has demonstrated himself to be someone who will take action, relatively quickly. For example, the other night, when he was in the ESPN broadcast booth with Mark Mulder during the first game of the Milwaukee-St. Louis series, he was asked about the issue of pitchers using foreign substances, and he indicated that providing more of a tacky feel on the baseball was something that MLB intended to explore.
So if this persists, if the voices of the players and staffers grows strength, and examinations like this one, by Jon Roegele of The Hardball Times, continue to appear, something is going to happen. If MLB perceives this to be a problem, there is going to be action, there is going to be change, because the sport is becoming increasingly like everything else in this society, evolving faster and faster.
Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon got his money's worth in an ejection Tuesday. And the response to McClendon's rant from the home crowd in Seattle is part of the reason MLB will never put a stop to managers arguing with umpires. It's part of the show.
