[jtur88]

Some stadiums are equipped with a device that purports to show whether the ball crosses the plate within the strike zone. Anybody know how accurate that is? When the ball is well outside the "K-zone" or whatever, Joe Morgan in particular invariably defends the umpire for calling it "within the tolerance" of a strike. What he apparently means is that if the umpire misses by 3 or 4 inches, he is to be given the benefit of the doubt. It is also widely stated that being consistent is more important than being right. It is not clear if the umpire has the discretion to call pitches that bounce in front of the plate strikes, as long as they call all bouncers strikes. The Braves capitalized for years on the apparent tendency of umpires to call a pitch a strike if it hits the mitt target, unless it is an obvious intentional pass, in which case a pitch hitting the mitt is usually called a ball nevertheless. Javy Lopez could set up in the on-deck circle and get called strikes. Once they made him get back into the catcher's box, but that only lasted for a game or two and he was right back out there.