Mastodawn

Shawn Harder May 2, 2025

MLB made a change that players say shrank the strike zone — and caught them by surprise https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6328105/2025/05/01/mlb-umpire-strike-zone-buffer-zone-change/?source=user_shared_article

MLB made a change that players say shrank the strike zone — and caught them by surprise

An adjustment in how umpires are graded has impacted ball-strike calls during the season’s first month, leaving players to adapt on the fly.

The Athletic

Beth P Sep 3, 2023

Interesting look at the pitch challenge system in AAA. Hard to say how this would work in the bigs. AAA zone is BS. Another way to "juice" offense, but I don't think walks are gonna be a draw for casual fans. I also was surprised that the challenge system worked as efficiently as it did, and of course they limit the challenges, but I still wonder if you'd end up wrecking advances in "pace of play" they've seen this year. #baseball #milb #strikezone

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/08/31/sports/robo-umpiring-has-arrived-minor-leagues-heres-how-its-been-working/

Robo-umpiring has arrived in the minor leagues. Here’s how it’s been working.

The massive experiment has significant implications for how the game is played, how players develop, and how players are evaluated.

The Boston Globe

Key Biscayne Independent Jul 11, 2023

What is a strike? Computers, umpires disagree :

big league umpires usually don't call strikes on pitches that clip the bottom of the three-dimensional zone's front or the top of the back, making the actual strike zone more of an oval than a cube.
#batter #MLB #pitch #pitcher #strikezone #umpire
#Miami #news

https://kbindependent.org/?p=9953

What is a strike? Computers, umpires disagree

big league umpires usually don't call strikes on pitches that clip the bottom of the three-dimensional zone's front or the top of the back, making the actual strike zone more of an oval than a cube.