MLB secretly removed strike zone box from players' dugout tablets | Foul Territory 

appreciate that. baseball the way it should be covered!

The box matters, it’s the zone that everyone involved with the game bases their decisions off. And if it wasn’t, why would MLB ever have agreed to put it on any of our screens. Now, you are correct in saying that the ump can’t see this zone. Umpires are human, and missing a strike that paints the corner or missing it the other way 4-6 inches outside is going to happen. But I suppose it’s nice to know when an umpire that day is off the plate consistently or not giving the letters, etc. Becomes even more informative when you have an umpire as egregious as Hernandez.

I also find it amusing that when a pitch fools the batter, catcher, bench, fans, and broadcasters, it's completely unacceptable it occasionally fools umpires, the one group consistently checked and found to be (while not perfect) better at it than all the others.

@@popgunandy right! Players will swing at pitches 4 feet off the plate but it's the umpire's fault. What is the MLB ump accuracy like 98%?

Correlation is not causation. There are two things we don't know - the first is whether or not the massive evolution in velocity, spin, and pitch shape is having an impact. These innovations are being implemented at younger and younger ages. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is out with injury for the Dodgers, as is Joe Kelly. They perform vastly different roles. Clayton Kershaw is in his mid-thirties and only just this past year underwent his first surgery; High schoolers have already seen their first and even second surgeries. The second thing we don't know is whether or not this has been going on for years and without the innovative reconstructions and training techniques of today are covering of an issue that's always been there. Would Koufax have continued with today's technology? Tommy John, the guy who had the first elbow reconstruction, pitched for two more decades...now guys are only lasting 3-4 years despite innovations. Save your powder for when we learn more. The average MLB career lasts just a tick over three years. I'm not sure why things happen and you don't either.

Except it's not helping. I realize there are issues with strike zone accuracy, but most arguments and ejections are over correct calls.

Nor does it have any relation to what you can hit - some guys can't hit a strike to save their life but are notorious bad ball hitters. Pablo Sandoval, please pick up the nearest white courtesy phone. Good hitters swing at pitches they can drive, and foul off stuff they can't, no matter where they are thrown; they often spit on strikes they know they can't do anything with. The Giants broadcast had a great story about Orlando Cepeda after he passed this week. He talked about his two-strike approach where he purposely backed off the plate and then lunged in to go opposite field after enticing the pitcher to try and hit the outside corner. Hitting is hard, but it's an art, and good hitters work with what they're presented, not necessarily what's a strike.

I agree.. way over half of the strike zone complaints come from fans. Chances are that if no box is there most fans can't tell if the ball was a strike of not, unless is very obvious.

The strike zone is objective but player stances, player height and pitch movement/velocity are all making it tougher to call balls and strikes. The system being used in select minor league games (a challenge system) seems to be working pretty well and takes just a few seconds. I've been to games where it's been in use and I like it.

@@popgunandyit depends what u mean by objective. sure, it’s defined. but the boundaries are subject to interpretation. so i would argue that there is an issue with the rules for the strikezone. it’s not precise.

@@jsa790 you're essentially saying Aaron Judge and Jose Altuve should have pitches at the same height called strikes...how on earth is that fair to either of them?

@@popgunandy​​⁠that’s not what i’m saying. yes i agree. the strikezone should adjust according to height, etc. i basically want to know where the true strikezone is for each pitch. right now, no one knows exactly. they have a pretty good idea, and given enough time people can draw a zone but even that is subject to disagreements.

@@jsa790 closecallsports does a good job with this.

Agreed. And I'd argue that training yourself to see the ball in relation to the plate and your own body is going to be more helpful than seeing it in relation to a made-up box that neither you nor the umpire has access to when you're standing at the plate.