On Friday night, in the seventh inning of a 3-3 game, Royals reliever Mike Minor threw Rangers pinch-hitter Mike Napoli an 0-1 fastball.
The pitch was well within the strike zone, but home plate umpire Scott Barry called it a ball.
If the catcher sets up on a corner, but has to reach back across the plate to receive the pitch – and that’s what happened with Napoli – some umpires will not call that pitch a strike, even though the pitch is in the zone.
Why?
Because it looks bad.
Reaching outside the shin guards to receive a pitch makes the pitch look like a ball; receiving a pitch between the shin guards makes the pitch look like a strike.