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What is the strike zone in softball?

Updated: 9/27/2023
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10y ago

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The strike zone is from the armpits to the knees tall. If any part of the ball crosses the plate it is considered a strike. Of course, umpire are supposed to try to stay within these parameters, but each umpire's strike zone varies.

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14y ago
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9y ago

The strike zone is girls fastpitch softball is from the armpits to the knees vertically and from each side of home plate horizontally. It is not the same as in MLB which the photo above shows.

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10y ago

Fast pitch strike zones are most of the time from the knees to the chest. Slightly below the knee to your shoulders, from either side of home plate to the other side of home plate.
knee to letter high or a tad lower than letter high matters on level

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14y ago
The strike zone is over home plate above your ankles and under your chest, but some umpires are mean and call strikes to low so watch out!!!!Strike Zone

In Baseball, the strike zone is a conceptual rectangular area over home plate which defines the boundaries through which a pitch must pass in order to count as a strike when the batter does not swing.

Definition

The top of the strike zone is the mid-level between the top of the batter's shoulders and his belt, and the bottom is at the level just beneath the knee cap. The right and left boundaries of the strike zone correspond to the edges of home plate. A pitch at which the batter does not swing and which does not pass through the strike zone is called a ball. Unofficially, the strike zone in Major League Baseball is often enforced as being from the knee of the batter to no higher than his belt, although there are a handful of umpires known to call the 'high' strike.

The strike zone is often illustrated as a two dimensional plane parallel to the front of the plate and perpendicular to the playing surface. If any part of a pitched ball intersects any portion of this plane, the ball is in the strike zone and should be ruled as a strike (unless hit.) Technically, the strike zone has depth as well; the rules define a volume of 3-dimensional space?a right pentagonal prism. If any part of the ball intersects any part of this space, it is considered in the zone, and should be ruled a strike.

A batter who accumulates three strikes in a single batting appearance has struck out and is ruled out (exception, see dropped third strike); a batter who accumulates four balls in a single appearance has drawn a base on balls (or "walk") and is awarded first base. In very early iterations of the rules during the 19th century, it took up to 9 balls for a batter to earn a walk; however, to make up for this, the batter could request the ball to be pitched high, low, or medium.

A strike shall be called and added to the batters count, when he...

  • Swings at a pitched ball and fails to hit it (swing and miss, strike swinging). According to MLB Rule 2.00 Definition of Terms, STRIKE (a), a pitch is called a strike if it "[i]s struck at by the batter and is missed".
  • Fails to swing at a pitched ball which is called a strike?determined to be in the strike zone?by the umpire. (called strike, strike looking)
  • Hits a pitched ball into foul territory when there are fewer than two strikes in the at-bat. (foul ball)
  • Bunts a pitched ball into foul territory. This counts as a foul strike regardless of the number of strikes already charged to the batter.
  • Attempts to bunt a pitched ball and fails to hit it. This counts as a swing and miss.
  • Touches a pitched ball while striking at it with the bat.
  • Touches a pitched ball while it is in the strike zone. (Intentional touching of a pitched ball is not allowed; see hit by pitch.)
  • Hits a foul tip; that is, ticks the ball which goes directly to the catcher's glove and is caught.
  • Refuses to enter the batter's box when ordered to do so by the umpire, and a directed pitch is thrown by the pitcher.

A normal foul strike cannot count against the batter as his third strike; the third strike must be a swing and miss, called strike, touched ball, foul bunt or foul tip.

Enforcement

While baseball rules provide a precise definition for the strike zone, in practice it is up to the judgment of the umpire to decide whether the pitch passed through the zone. Umpires often call pitches according to a contemporary understanding of the strike zone rather than the official rulebook definition. The conventional definition that prevails in Major League Baseball shifts the whole strike zone laterally a few inches away from the batter while truncating the zone vertically near the batter's belt.

In 2001, Major League Baseball directed its umpires to call pitches according to the official definition rather than the conventional one. Umpires were to call "high" strikes and "inside" strikes, while pitches just off the outside part of the plate were to be called balls. The umpires demonstrated limited compliance for a time, but before long the de facto strike zone had returned to the conventional definition. Shortly thereafter, Major League Baseball began privately evaluating umpires based on the Questec pitch-tracking system. Whether such evalulation has brought today's strike zone closer to the rulebook definition is a matter of debate.

Many factors have contributed to the divergence of the official and conventional strike zones. Changes began in the 1970s, when umpires upgraded their chest protection in favor of more compact vests allowing them more movement. Crouching lower meant lowering their line of vision, and caused the boundaries of the strike zone to sink lower. As pitchers lost the higher strike zone, they began throwing lower and to the outside, which caused hitters to move closer inside.

At the same time, there was a shift in attitude among both players and league officials regarding pitches thrown inside. While pitchers of the 1960's like Bob Gibson regarded it a pitcher's right to throw high and inside, later batters were more likely to take offense at such treatment. Major League Baseball also tightened its rules prohibiting pitchers from intentionally hitting batters, removing the warning pitchers formerly received before being ejected from a game. Soon, hitters moved closer to the plate and looked for the ball outside.

Despite the fact that the conventional strike zone is a departure from one of the fundamental rules of baseball, the difference does not garner a great deal of attention. In general, players and managers consider consistency rather than accuracy to be the most important characteristic of a well-judged strike zone.

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14y ago

The strike zone on a little league player starts and the midpoint of the chest right under the armpits to the knees, as a umpire in LL we try to give the pitchers the confidence of getting the ball across the plate with out tightening up on them, if it looks hitable better swing.

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15y ago

the area that is around the place that the batter hits eg. i am standing ready to hits when the pitcher pitches it to me i hits in a 270 degreees circle and that circle around where i hit is the strike zone

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14y ago

Some umpires will call a little differently, but the average is between the letters on your jersey to your knees

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14y ago

the strike zone is wherever the umpire says

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13y ago

Your strike zone in baseball is from your chest to your knees and the width of home plate.

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12y ago

From The Name On The Jersey To The Knees.

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Q: What is the strike zone in softball?
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Related questions

What is a description of the strike zones in softball-?

The strike zones in softball is the way that you hit the ball. Usually the strike zone is from knees to the chest.


What are the zones called in softball?

Strike Zone The strike zone is from the knee to shoulder of the batting softball player. The strike zone also extends as wide as a normal swing. A strike is called if the ball passes through the strike zone and reaches the catcher. The softball umpire will also call a strike if a batter swings and misses at a pitch outside the strike zone. Three strikes result in a batter being called out by the softball umpire. A ball is called for all pitches that miss the strike zone. Four balls allow a batter to walk to first base uncontested. Outfield These 3 zones are short, middle, and long. In the outfield.


Difference between walk and strike on the softball game?

In softball, the batter can be walked, strikeout, or they can get a hit. Walks are caused by the batter accumulating 4 balls. A ball is a pitch thrown outside of the strike zone. A strike is a pitch thrown inside the strike zone. A batter can get a strike by either swinging and missing the ball, or they can get a strike from not swinging at a strike within the strike zone.


When does a softball umpire call a strike?

an umpire calls a strike when the ball is in the strike zone. personal my strike zone is chest to shin. to call a strike, u raise your right hand up to your ear and make a fist an call out "STRIKE!"


What size is extended strike zone for slow underhand pitch softball?

under your waist


How high can you pitch a softball?

only in the strike zone and it also depends on the umpires opinion if he thinks it's low than its low.


Where is the strike zone in softball?

The strike zone in softball is from the armpits to the knees tall. A ball that crosses any part of the plate wide. The strike zone is supposed to stay constant, even between umpires, but some umpires will always have different strike zones than others.


When will a runner get a strike in softball?

A runner doesn't get a strike, a batter does.


Describe the strike zones in softball?

For fast pitch softball, international play and NCAA is bottom of the shoulders to lower portion of the knees. And the width of the plate. NOTE: Due to size of the ball the strike zone in softball can seem wider than MLB, but it's similar. Also the rules of the batters box differ between softball and baseball.


When using a strike mat in slow pitch softball is the plate part of the strike zone?

Both, It depends on your league. I have played both ways. There are at least 2 mat size 16.5"x25" & 17"x36"


How to hit a softball of a tee?

It's no difference from hitting a pitched ball. Make sure to just position it out in front of the homeplate and adjust height to your strike zone.


What is strike in softball?

Jeez, first of all, you need to catch up on reading that rules book of yours! A strike is a pitch thrown by the pitcher and hits the catcher's glove so that the catcher doesn't have to move her/his glove at all. Or if the pitch is in the "strike zone", the umpire may also call it a strike.