And anyone who thinks that last batter didn't go all the way, watch this video angle and stop it at 2:53. You'll see his bat way in front of the plate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK-gpt8N5tU

Beardown, that is an excellent point...

Shut yo punk ass up...

Thanks JORR. Clearly, the bat is out over the plate and is facing forward.

Besides it's not like there's anything in the rulebook that defines what's a good check swing, only it's at the umpires discretion.

If that's the case, then it is clear that it was a swing.

Props to the umpire for making a definite authoritative call immediately.

I was listening to some local ESPN hack this morning and he was talking about an uproar from people complaining about the Seattle fans cheering for Humber from like the 6th inning on.

If that is true, that is stupid. Cheering for your team is great and all, but a perfect game is a historical moment and I do not blame the Seattle fans for cheering.

Why would you cheer for a below average pitchers throwing a perfect game against your team?

Thanks JORR. Clearly, the bat is out over the plate and is facing forward.

And, it’s an even tougher judgment call for umpires standing behind the mound.

Yeah, I'd imagine it would be difficult to try to call balls and strikes from there...

I'm talking about the 1st or 3rd base ump that are forced to make a call on these swings. They are behind the mound.

I don't know how you can see the picture JORR posted and think that the call wasn't justified. It was a judgement call, and he judged it to be a swing worthy of a strike. Now, maybe you wouldn't have called it a strike but the justification is clearly there.

My idea of going means you break the 180 degree point by just a hair. Imagine the batter's swing as a complete 360 degree circle. Once they break 180, they have swung. It's that simple.

My idea of going means you break the 180 degree point by just a hair. Imagine the batter's swing as a complete 360 degree circle. Once they break 180, they have swung. It's that simple.

Now this doesn't mean breaking the line of the plate. That's an unfair marking point. Because some guys stand up in the box and would be more likely to break the front of the plate than those that stand all the way back.

In watching this youtube link, I still can't tell. If anything, I'd say he was exactly at 180 so it was ball four. It's too far of a vantage point to really be able to tell.

That's not right though. A batter can "offer" at a bunt attempt without really swinging at all and have a strike called. Like you said, the rule isn't very explicit. It isn't crossing the plate with the bat. It isn't breaking the wrists. It's simply the umpire's discretion. And calling that a strike isn't controversial. Particularly in that situation. If he had called it ball four, it probably would have been more controversial.