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Strike zone

January 01, 1970

For other uses, see Strike zone (disambiguation).

In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's knees and the midpoint of their torso. Whether a pitch passes through the zone is decided by an umpire, who is generally positioned behind the catcher.

A labelled drawing of the strike zone superimposed onto an image from a game, showing a batter, catcher and umpire. The pitcher (not pictured) pitches a baseball to the catcher; the batter attempts to hit this baseball; and the umpire decides whether pitches are balls or strikes.

Strikes are desirable for the pitcher and the fielding team, as three strikes result in a strikeout of that batter. A pitch that misses the strike zone is called a ball if the batter fails to swing at it. Balls are desirable for the batter and the batting team, as four balls allow the batter to take a "walk" to first base as a base on balls.

A batter gets a strike in Japan, 2024

Definition edit

The strike zone is a volume of space, a vertical right pentagonal prism. Its sides are vertical planes extending up from the edges of home plate. In Major League Baseball, the top of the strike zone is the midpoint between the top of the batter's shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the bottom of the strike zone is at the hollow beneath the kneecap, both determined from the batter's stance as the batter is prepared to swing at the pitched ball. Various rulebooks for baseball and softball define the strike zone slightly differently.

(A pitch is also a strike if the batter swings or offers the bat in an attempt to hit the pitch. A pitch batted into foul territory—a foul ball—is also a strike, subject to various exceptions.) A pitch that is not a strike is called a ball (short for "no ball"). The active tally of strikes and balls during a player's turn at bat is called the count.

Although the de facto enforced strike zone can vary, the Official Rules (Definitions of Terms, STRIKE (b)) define a pitch as a strike "if any part of the ball passes through any part of the strike zone", with the ball required to have not bounced. Thus, a pitch that touches the outer boundary of the zone is as much a strike as a pitch that is thrown right down the center. A pitch passing outside the front of the strike zone but curving so as to enter this volume farther back (without being hit) is sometimes called a "back-door strike".

A batter who accumulates three strikes in a single batting appearance has struck out and is ruled out (with the exception of an uncaught third strike); a batter who accumulates four balls in a single appearance has drawn a base on balls (or walk) and is awarded advancement to 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.[1]

History edit

Originally, the word "strike" was used literally: the batter striking at the ball in an effort to hit it. For example, the 11th rule of the Knickerbocker Rules (1845) read "Three balls being struck at and missed and the last one caught, is a hand-out." There was no adverse consequence if the batter chose not to swing, i.e. the called strike did not exist, the result being batters prepared to wait all day for "their" pitch. It was not until the 1858 NABBP convention that a rule was adopted authorizing the umpire to impose a penalty strike for such conduct: "Should a striker stand at the bat without striking at good balls repeatedly pitched to him, for the purpose of delaying the game or of giving advantage to a player, the umpire, after warning him, shall call one strike, and if he persists in such action, two and three strikes. When three strikes are called, he shall be subject to the same rules as if he had struck at three balls."[2] The called ball first appeared in the rules of 1863, similarly as a discretionary penalty imposed on the pitcher for persistently delivering "unfair" balls.[3]

Whether or not a pitch was "unfair" or the batter was being unreasonably picky was left entirely to the umpire's judgment. Well into the 1870s, umpires were reluctant to make such calls,[4] since they were viewed as penalties for unsportsmanlike play; but by the 1880s they had become routine, and the modern view took hold, that every pitch results in either a swing, a ball or a called strike. The first rule leading to the creation of a defined strike zone was enacted by the American Association before the 1886 season. As explained in The Sporting Life on March 17, 1886, "the ball must be delivered at the height called for by the batsman. If at such height it passes over any part of the plate then it is a strike. The idea is to give the pitcher a chance against some cranky umpires who compelled the twirlers to almost cut the plate in two before a strike would be called, even if the height was right."[5] The following year, the National League created the full strike zone, eliminating the batter's right to call the height of the pitch, and instead requiring the umpire to call a strike on any pitch that "passes over home plate not lower than the batsman's knee, nor higher than his shoulders."[6]

Major League Baseball has occasionally redefined the strike zone to control the balance of power between pitchers and hitters.[7] After the record home run year by Roger Maris in 1961, the major leagues increased the size of the strike zone by raising the top of the zone from the batter's armpit to the top of his shoulder.[8][9] In 1968, pitchers such as Denny McLain and Bob Gibson dominated hitters, producing 339 shutouts.[7] Carl Yastrzemski was the only American League hitter to finish the season with a batting average higher than .300.[7] In the National League, Gibson posted a 1.12 earned run average, the lowest in 54 years, while Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale threw a record 58⅔ consecutive scoreless innings during the 1968 season.[7] As a result of the dropping offensive statistics, Major League Baseball reduced pitchers' advantage by lowering the height of the mound from 15 inches to 10 inches, and by reducing the size of the strike zone for the 1969 season to extend only from the batter's armpits to the top of the knees.[8][10] In 1985, the top of the strike zone was lowered to the midpoint of the batter's torso, as viewed from a vertical angle by the umpire.[8]

Enforcement edit

 
An umpire calling a strike on Barry Bonds (#25)

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.

The Official Baseball Rules (Rule 8.02(a), including Comment) state that objections to judgment calls on the field, including balls and strikes, shall not be tolerated, and that any manager, coach, or player who leaves his dugout or field position to contest a judgment call will first be warned, and then ejected.[11]

Many umpires, players and analysts, including the authors of a University of Nebraska study on the subject,[12] believe that due to the QuesTec pitch-tracking system, the enforced strike zone in 2002–2006 was larger compared to the zone in 1996–2000 and thus closer to the rulebook definition. Some commentators believed that the zone had changed so much that some pitchers, such as Tom Glavine, had to radically adjust their approach to pitching for strikes.[13] In 2003, a frustrated Curt Schilling took a baseball bat to a QuesTec camera and destroyed it after a loss, saying the umpires shouldn't be changing the strike zone to match the machines.[14]

In 2009, a new system called Zone Evaluation was implemented in all 30 Major League ballparks, replacing the QuesTec system; the new system records the ball's position in flight more than 20 times before it reaches home plate.[15] Much of the early resistance from Major League umpires to QuesTec had diminished and the implementation of the new Zone Evaluation system in all the parks went largely unmentioned to fans. Like the old system, the new system will be used to grade umpires on accuracy and used to determine which umpires receive postseason assignments, but games themselves are still subject to their error.[16]

As of 2022, Minor league baseball had used Automated Balls and Strikes on an experimental basis for several seasons. While the umpire continued to call balls and strikes, an automated system determined the strike zone and could be used when a team challenged the umpire's call. Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said in October 2022 that this method would eventually be used in Major League games. ESPN reported that all AAA games would use the method in the 2023 season.[17][18] For 2023, the system was used for half of all games, with the other half using umpires, with ABS used for up to three challenges per team for each game.[19]

In other sports edit

  • In cricket, a ball is effectively a strike if it knocks over the wicket. A single strike retires the batter. The closest equivalent to a ball is the wide, which is an automatic 1-run penalty for any pitch out of reach of the batter and/or wicket.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "What An MLB Strike Zone Really Looks Like And Why Players Are Always So Mad About It". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  2. ^ "1858 NABBP Rules – Protoball".
  3. ^ "Should the pitcher repeatedly fail to deliver to the striker fair balls, for the apparent purpose of delaying the game, or for any other cause, the umpire, after warning him, shall call one ball, and if the pitcher persists in such action, two and three balls; when three balls shall have been called, the striker shall be entitled to the first base; and should any base be occupied at that time, each player occupying them shall be entitled to one base without being put out." https://protoball.org/1863_NABBP_Rules
  4. ^ "In [calling balls] on pitchers, the rule to be observed this season by leading umpires will be as follows: When the game commences, the umpire, after making such allowance for accidental unfair delivery as the circumstances will justify, will without appeal call “ball to the bat,” after which notice should the pitcher fail “repeatedly”, viz., twice or three times to deliver a fair ball, then the umpire will call “one ball;” and if the pitcher persists in such action, that is, delivers one or two unfair balls directly after such warning and calling of one ball, two and three balls are to be called, and the player given his base. Less latitude will be allowed in this matter than was permitted last season, and the practice of taking the opinion of the two nines or their captains as to the degree of latitude to be observed in making allowance for unfair balls is to be entirely done away with." New York Clipper, March 25, 1865
  5. ^ "A Definition", in The Sporting Life, Wednesday, March 17, 1886, p. 1, col. 2.
  6. ^ "The Strike Zone: A History of Official Strike Zone Rules by Baseball Almanac".
  7. ^ a b c d . thisgreatgame.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  8. ^ a b c "Strike Zone". MLB.com. January 20, 2024.
  9. ^ "Expanded strike zone unveiled". The Press-Courier. Associated Press. 8 March 1963. p. 9. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  10. ^ "McLain Says Lower Mound Will Take Toll of Pitchers". The Telegraph-Herald. Associated Press. 14 January 1969. p. 13. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  11. ^ "Official Baseball Rules, 2018" (PDF). Major League Baseball. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  12. ^ Newswise Social and Behavioral Sciences News | Larger Strike Zone, Drug Testing Reduced Hitting in Baseball Since 2000
  13. ^ Umpires and totals: Men behind the mask occasionally steal the show
  14. ^ D'backs' Schilling fined for destroying QuesTec camera
  15. ^ Monitor May Reopen Wounds, an April 2009 article from The New York Times
  16. ^ Preview 2009: The umpires' arbiter from an April 2009 Star Tribune article
  17. ^ Joseph, Andrew (2022-10-10). "Rob Manfred confirms automated strike zone is coming to MLB 'in one form or another'". USA Today. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  18. ^ Zietlow, Alex (2023-01-13). "It worked for Charlotte Knights. Now electronic strike zone will be in all AAA baseball". The Charlotte Observer.
  19. ^ Effress, Sarah (2023-07-01). "Automated umpire system earns high marks from Charlotte Knights". The Charlotte Observer.

Further reading edit

  • Gammons, Peter (April 6, 1987). "What Ever Happened to the Strike Zone?". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 66, no. 14. pp. 36–40, 45–46.

External links edit

  • 2001 Changes in Strike Zone St. Petersburg Times article.
  • Strike Zone MLB website.
  • John Walsh, "Strike Zone: Fact vs. Fiction", The Hardball Times, July 11, 2007
  • The Strike Zone: A Chronological Examination of the Official Rules baseball-almanac

January 01, 1970
strike, zone, other, uses, disambiguation, baseball, strike, zoneis, volume, space, through, which, pitch, must, pass, order, called, strike, even, batter, does, swing, strike, zone, defined, volume, space, above, home, plate, between, batter, knees, midpoint,. For other uses see Strike zone disambiguation In baseball the strike zoneis the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter s knees and the midpoint of their torso Whether a pitch passes through the zone is decided by an umpire who is generally positioned behind the catcher A labelled drawing of the strike zone superimposed onto an image from a game showing a batter catcher and umpire The pitcher not pictured pitches a baseball to the catcher the batter attempts to hit this baseball and the umpire decides whether pitches are balls or strikes Strikes are desirable for the pitcher and the fielding team as three strikes result in a strikeout of that batter A pitch that misses the strike zone is called a ball if the batter fails to swing at it Balls are desirable for the batter and the batting team as four balls allow the batter to take a walk to first base as a base on balls source source source source source source source source source source A batter gets a strike in Japan 2024 Contents 1 Definition 2 History 3 Enforcement 4 In other sports 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksDefinition editThe strike zone is a volume of space a vertical right pentagonal prism Its sides are vertical planes extending up from the edges of home plate In Major League Baseball the top of the strike zone is the midpoint between the top of the batter s shoulders and the top of the uniform pants and the bottom of the strike zone is at the hollow beneath the kneecap both determined from the batter s stance as the batter is prepared to swing at the pitched ball Various rulebooks for baseball and softball define the strike zone slightly differently A pitch is also a strike if the batter swings or offers the bat in an attempt to hit the pitch A pitch batted into foul territory a foul ball is also a strike subject to various exceptions A pitch that is not a strike is called a ball short for no ball The active tally of strikes and balls during a player s turn at bat is called the count Although the de facto enforced strike zone can vary the Official Rules Definitions of Terms STRIKE b define a pitch as a strike if any part of the ball passes through any part of the strike zone with the ball required to have not bounced Thus a pitch that touches the outer boundary of the zone is as much a strike as a pitch that is thrown right down the center A pitch passing outside the front of the strike zone but curving so as to enter this volume farther back without being hit is sometimes called a back door strike A batter who accumulates three strikes in a single batting appearance has struck out and is ruled out with the exception of an uncaught third strike a batter who accumulates four balls in a single appearance has drawn a base on balls or walk and is awarded advancement to 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 1 History editOriginally the word strike was used literally the batter striking at the ball in an effort to hit it For example the 11th rule of the Knickerbocker Rules 1845 read Three balls being struck at and missed and the last one caught is a hand out There was no adverse consequence if the batter chose not to swing i e the called strike did not exist the result being batters prepared to wait all day for their pitch It was not until the 1858 NABBP convention that a rule was adopted authorizing the umpire to impose a penalty strike for such conduct Should a striker stand at the bat without striking at good balls repeatedly pitched to him for the purpose of delaying the game or of giving advantage to a player the umpire after warning him shall call one strike and if he persists in such action two and three strikes When three strikes are called he shall be subject to the same rules as if he had struck at three balls 2 The called ball first appeared in the rules of 1863 similarly as a discretionary penalty imposed on the pitcher for persistently delivering unfair balls 3 Whether or not a pitch was unfair or the batter was being unreasonably picky was left entirely to the umpire s judgment Well into the 1870s umpires were reluctant to make such calls 4 since they were viewed as penalties for unsportsmanlike play but by the 1880s they had become routine and the modern view took hold that every pitch results in either a swing a ball or a called strike The first rule leading to the creation of a defined strike zone was enacted by the American Association before the 1886 season As explained in The Sporting Life on March 17 1886 the ball must be delivered at the height called for by the batsman If at such height it passes over any part of the plate then it is a strike The idea is to give the pitcher a chance against some cranky umpires who compelled the twirlers to almost cut the plate in two before a strike would be called even if the height was right 5 The following year the National League created the full strike zone eliminating the batter s right to call the height of the pitch and instead requiring the umpire to call a strike on any pitch that passes over home plate not lower than the batsman s knee nor higher than his shoulders 6 Major League Baseball has occasionally redefined the strike zone to control the balance of power between pitchers and hitters 7 After the record home run year by Roger Maris in 1961 the major leagues increased the size of the strike zone by raising the top of the zone from the batter s armpit to the top of his shoulder 8 9 In 1968 pitchers such as Denny McLain and Bob Gibson dominated hitters producing 339 shutouts 7 Carl Yastrzemski was the only American League hitter to finish the season with a batting average higher than 300 7 In the National League Gibson posted a 1 12 earned run average the lowest in 54 years while Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale threw a record 58 consecutive scoreless innings during the 1968 season 7 As a result of the dropping offensive statistics Major League Baseball reduced pitchers advantage by lowering the height of the mound from 15 inches to 10 inches and by reducing the size of the strike zone for the 1969 season to extend only from the batter s armpits to the top of the knees 8 10 In 1985 the top of the strike zone was lowered to the midpoint of the batter s torso as viewed from a vertical angle by the umpire 8 Enforcement edit nbsp An umpire calling a strike on Barry Bonds 25 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 The Official Baseball Rules Rule 8 02 a including Comment state that objections to judgment calls on the field including balls and strikes shall not be tolerated and that any manager coach or player who leaves his dugout or field position to contest a judgment call will first be warned and then ejected 11 Many umpires players and analysts including the authors of a University of Nebraska study on the subject 12 believe that due to the QuesTec pitch tracking system the enforced strike zone in 2002 2006 was larger compared to the zone in 1996 2000 and thus closer to the rulebook definition Some commentators believed that the zone had changed so much that some pitchers such as Tom Glavine had to radically adjust their approach to pitching for strikes 13 In 2003 a frustrated Curt Schilling took a baseball bat to a QuesTec camera and destroyed it after a loss saying the umpires shouldn t be changing the strike zone to match the machines 14 In 2009 a new system called Zone Evaluation was implemented in all 30 Major League ballparks replacing the QuesTec system the new system records the ball s position in flight more than 20 times before it reaches home plate 15 Much of the early resistance from Major League umpires to QuesTec had diminished and the implementation of the new Zone Evaluation system in all the parks went largely unmentioned to fans Like the old system the new system will be used to grade umpires on accuracy and used to determine which umpires receive postseason assignments but games themselves are still subject to their error 16 As of 2022 Minor league baseball had used Automated Balls and Strikes on an experimental basis for several seasons While the umpire continued to call balls and strikes an automated system determined the strike zone and could be used when a team challenged the umpire s call Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said in October 2022 that this method would eventually be used in Major League games ESPN reported that all AAA games would use the method in the 2023 season 17 18 For 2023 the system was used for half of all games with the other half using umpires with ABS used for up to three challenges per team for each game 19 In other sports editIn cricket a ball is effectively a strike if it knocks over the wicket A single strike retires the batter The closest equivalent to a ball is the wide which is an automatic 1 run penalty for any pitch out of reach of the batter and or wicket See also edit nbsp Baseball portal Glossary of baseball termsReferences edit What An MLB Strike Zone Really Looks Like And Why Players Are Always So Mad About It Business Insider Retrieved 2018 04 29 1858 NABBP Rules Protoball Should the pitcher repeatedly fail to deliver to the striker fair balls for the apparent purpose of delaying the game or for any other cause the umpire after warning him shall call one ball and if the pitcher persists in such action two and three balls when three balls shall have been called the striker shall be entitled to the first base and should any base be occupied at that time each player occupying them shall be entitled to one base without being put out https protoball org 1863 NABBP Rules In calling balls on pitchers the rule to be observed this season by leading umpires will be as follows When the game commences the umpire after making such allowance for accidental unfair delivery as the circumstances will justify will without appeal call ball to the bat after which notice should the pitcher fail repeatedly viz twice or three times to deliver a fair ball then the umpire will call one ball and if the pitcher persists in such action that is delivers one or two unfair balls directly after such warning and calling of one ball two and three balls are to be called and the player given his base Less latitude will be allowed in this matter than was permitted last season and the practice of taking the opinion of the two nines or their captains as to the degree of latitude to be observed in making allowance for unfair balls is to be entirely done away with New York Clipper March 25 1865 A Definition in The Sporting Life Wednesday March 17 1886 p 1 col 2 The Strike Zone A History of Official Strike Zone Rules by Baseball Almanac a b c d 1968 Year of the Pitcher thisgreatgame com Archived from the original on 24 December 2011 Retrieved 25 December 2011 a b c Strike Zone MLB com January 20 2024 Expanded strike zone unveiled The Press Courier Associated Press 8 March 1963 p 9 Retrieved 25 December 2011 McLain Says Lower Mound Will Take Toll of Pitchers The Telegraph Herald Associated Press 14 January 1969 p 13 Retrieved 25 December 2011 Official Baseball Rules 2018 PDF Major League Baseball Retrieved 2018 06 20 Newswise Social and Behavioral Sciences News Larger Strike Zone Drug Testing Reduced Hitting in Baseball Since 2000 Umpires and totals Men behind the mask occasionally steal the show D backs Schilling fined for destroying QuesTec camera Monitor May Reopen Wounds an April 2009 article from The New York Times Preview 2009 The umpires arbiter from an April 2009 Star Tribune article Joseph Andrew 2022 10 10 Rob Manfred confirms automated strike zone is coming to MLB in one form or another USA Today Retrieved 2023 01 14 Zietlow Alex 2023 01 13 It worked for Charlotte Knights Now electronic strike zone will be in all AAA baseball The Charlotte Observer Effress Sarah 2023 07 01 Automated umpire system earns high marks from Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Observer Further reading editGammons Peter April 6 1987 What Ever Happened to the Strike Zone Sports Illustrated Vol 66 no 14 pp 36 40 45 46 External links edit2001 Changes in Strike Zone St Petersburg Times article Strike Zone MLB website John Walsh Strike Zone Fact vs Fiction The Hardball Times July 11 2007 The Strike Zone A Chronological Examination of the Official Rules baseball almanac Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Strike zone amp oldid 1221021061, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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