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Sep 14, 2015 · However, the rule book defines a strike as a pitch where “any part of the ball passes through any part of the zone.” Therefore, a ball that simply passes through the strike zone for a total of one...
- Eric Lang
- What The Data Say
- Proposed Strike Zone Model
- Metrics For Heart/Control/Command
- Adding in Some Nuance
- Summing Up Horizontal and Vertical Nuance
- Pizza Slice Model
- Concluding Thoughts
- References and Resources
Pitchers, when they choose the location of the pitch are optimizing for three outcomes: 1. Limiting quality of contact (we’ll measure this with wOBAContact) 2. Maximizing called strikes (we’ll measure this with Called Strike % on pitches taken) 3. Maximizing swings and misses (we’ll measure this with Swing & Miss %) Let’s look at a chart from the p...
We start with a superellipse, with a height that is 90 percent of its width. This is the probabilistic strike zone we explored in part one. The innermost circle, which can be larger or smaller depending on your own analysis, should be considered the “heart” of the plate. The size of the circle is entirely arbitrary and depends on what you want to c...
Let’s look at some high level metrics for our three zones, for all pitches thrown within the probabilistic strike zone outlined in the first article of this series, excluding bunts and bunt attempts. Pitches to the heart of the zone have a greater than 99 percent chance of being called a strike. The control zone sacrifices a little called strike ce...
Let’s sprinkle in a little nuance that doesn’t conform perfectly to our model. Let’s begin by looking at swing and miss percentage by horizontal location. Negative values are always inside; positive values farther away from the hitter. Swing & Miss Location by Horizontal Location Four-seam fastballs get more swings and misses the farther they are f...
Generally speaking, as we move away from the true center of strike zone, we experience predictable changes in outcomes. The large exception relates to swings and misses with respect to horizontal location. If a pitcher is optimizing for a specific outcome (such as a swing and miss), horizontal and vertical location become much bigger factors as opp...
If you believe the model above is overly simplistic, a simple modification would be to convert each zone into pizza slices. This would look something like this: One could then capture the distance (Heart/Control/Command) as well as nuance (up and in/up and away/down and in/down and away). This would give us 12 distinct zones to classify pitches tha...
The strike zone is a beautiful, constantly shifting puzzle; the pitcher has to decide, based on a host of variables, where he should aim his pitch. In part one, “It’s Not a Square,” we argued that the strike zone is better represented as a superellipse, rather than a rectangle. Today, we pushed the envelope one step farther, suggesting that we shou...
Rob Arthur, FiveThirtyEight, “Baseball’s New Pitch-Tracking System Is Just A Bit Outside”Wayne Boyle, Baseball Prospectus, “Prospectus Feature: The Universal Strike Zone“Wayne Boyle, Sean O’Rourke, Jeff Long, and Harry Pavlidis, Baseball Prospectus, “Robo Strike Zone: It’s Not as Simple as You Think“Oct 4, 2023 · In baseball, the strike zone is generally a volume of space where a pitcher should throw the ball to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. This is typically considered universal. Nevertheless, league-specifically, this rule may vary slightly.
Jul 18, 2024 · According to Little League rules, “The STRIKE ZONE is that space over home plate between the batter’s armpits and the top of the knees when the batter assumes a natural stance. The umpire shall determine the strike zone according to the batter’s usual stance when that batter swings at a pitch.”
Nov 21, 2019 · November 21, 2019 The Three Dimensional Strikezone. How to call the pitch on the edge of the plate. Ted Barrett explains what the edges of the plate mean and how umpires envision a three-dimensional strikezone.
Nov 5, 2009 · Basics. When looking at the strike zone home plate umpires call, we must remember the following points: 1. Umpires are humans. 2. Humans produce inconsistent work and make mistakes. 3. For the...
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However, the rule book defines a strike as a pitch where “any part of the ball passes through any part of the zone.” Therefore, a ball that simply passes through the strike zone for a total of one inch should technically be called a strike.
