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Encyclopedia > Strike zone
Strike zone boundaries (MLB)
Strike zone boundaries (MLB)

Image File history File links Edited from MLB website graphic. ... Image File history File links Edited from MLB website graphic. ...

Definition

In baseball, the strike zone is a conceptual rectangular area over home plate which defines the boundaries through which a pitch must pass in order to count as a strike when the batter does not swing. The top of the strike zone is the mid-level between the top of the batter's shoulders and his belt, and the bottom is at the level just beneath the knee cap. The right and left boundaries of the strike zone correspond to the edges of home plate. A pitch at which the batter does not swing and which does not pass through the strike zone is called a ball. Unofficially, the strike zone in Major League Baseball is often enforced as being from the knee of the batter to no higher than his belt, although there are a handful of umpires known to call the 'high' strike. Baseball is a team sport, in which a fist-sized ball is thrown by a defensive player called a pitcher and hit by an offensive player called a batter with a round, smooth stick called a bat. ... In geometry, a rectangle is a defined as a quadrilateral polygon in which all four angles are right angles. ... Home plate is the final base in baseball and related games that a player must touch to score. ... In baseball, a pitch is the act of throwing a baseball toward home plate to start a play. ... Barry Bonds batting Photo:Agência Brasil In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for ones team. ... MLB logo Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in professional baseball in the world. ...


A batter who accumulates three strikes in a single batting appearance has struck out and is ruled out; a batter who accumulates four balls in a single appearance has drawn a base on balls (or "walk") and is awarded 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. In baseball, a strikeout or strike out (denoted by K, K-S, or SO) occurs when the batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. ... In baseball, an out occurs when the defensive team effects any of a number of different events, and the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. ... In baseball statistics, a base on balls (BB), also called a walk, is used in baseball to track the performance of pitchers and batters. ... The position of the first baseman First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that players team. ...


The Strike Zone is treated as a two dimensional plane stretching 'officially' from the batter's knees to his/her shoulders vertically, and across the 21" home plate horizontally. In order for the pitch to be considered a strike by the umpire, the baseball must successfully traverse across the front plane of the home plate, regardless of where the baseball lands. A pitch that does not cross the front of home plate in the strike zone is a ball. Dimension (from Latin measured out) is, in essence, the number of degrees of freedom available for movement in a space. ... Home plate is the final base in baseball and related games that a player must touch to score. ...


There are several ways to receive a strike:

  • Swinging at a pitched ball and failing to hit it (swing and miss, strike swinging). According to MLB Rule 2.00 Definition of Terms, STRIKE (a), a pitch is called a strike if it "[i]s struck at by the batter and is missed". [1]
  • Failing to swing at a pitched ball which is called a strike—determined to be in the strike zone—by the umpire. (called strike, strike looking)
  • Swinging at a pitched ball and hitting it into foul territory when there are fewer than two strikes in the at-bat. (foul ball)
  • Bunting at a pitched ball and hitting it into foul territory. This counts as a foul strike regardless of the number of strikes already charged to the batter.
  • Bunting at a pitched ball and failing to hit it. This counts as a swing and miss.
  • Touching a pitched ball while striking at it with the bat.
  • Touching a pitched ball while it is in the strike zone. (Intentional touching of a pitched ball is not allowed; see hit by pitch.)
  • Swinging at a pitched ball and foul tipping it into the catcher's glove. (foul tip)
  • When a pitch is thrown after the batter refuses to enter the batter's box when play is called.

A normal foul strike cannot count against the batter as his third strike; the third strike must be a swing and miss, called strike, touched ball or foul tip. Home plate umpire Gary Darling signals that the last pitch was a strike In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and meting out discipline. ... In baseball, a foul ball is a batted ball that is not a foul tip, and that. ... In baseball, being hit by a pitch refers to the batter being hit in some part of the body by a pitch from the pitcher. ... In baseball, a foul tip is a batted ball that goes sharp and direct from the bat to the catchers hands and is legally caught. ...


Enforcement

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. Umpires often call pitches according to a contemporary understanding of the strike zone rather than the official rulebook definition. The conventional definition that prevails in Major League Baseball shifts the whole strike zone laterally a few inches away from the batter while truncating the zone vertically near the batter's belt. Home plate umpire Gary Darling signals that the last pitch was a strike In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and meting out discipline. ... MLB logo Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in professional baseball in the world. ...


In 2001, Major League Baseball directed its umpires to call pitches according to the official definition rather than the conventional one. Umpires were to call "high" strikes and "inside" strikes, while pitches just off the outside part of the plate were to be called balls. The umpires demonstrated limited compliance for a time, but before long the de facto strike zone had returned to the conventional definition. 2001: A Space Odyssey 2001 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...


Many factors have contributed to the divergence of the official and conventional strike zones. Changes began in the 1970s, when umpires upgraded their chest protection in favor of more compact vests allowing them more movement. Crouching lower meant lowering their line of vision, and caused the boundaries of the strike zone to sink lower. As pitchers lost the higher strike zone, they began throwing lower and to the outside, which caused hitters to move closer inside.


At the same time, there was a shift in attitude among both players and league officials regarding pitches thrown inside. While pitchers of the 1960's like Bob Gibson regarded it a pitcher's right to throw high and inside, later batters were more likely to take offense at such treatment. Major League Baseball also tightened its rules prohibiting pitchers from intentionally hitting batters, removing the warning pitchers formerly received before being ejected from a game. The inside pitch was largely taken away from the pitchers, which freed hitters to move closer to the plate and look for the ball outside. Bob Gibson (born November 9, 1935) was a right_handed pitcher for the St. ...


Despite the fact that the conventional strike zone is a departure from one of the fundamental rules of baseball, the difference does not garner a great deal of attention. Players, managers, and umpires alike consider consistency rather than accuracy to be the most important characteristic of an umpire's effective strike zone.


External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Strike zone - definition of Strike zone in Encyclopedia (657 words)
In baseball, the strike zone is a conceptual rectangular area over home plate which defines the boundaries through which a pitch must pass in order to count as a strike when the batter does not swing.
A batter who accumulates three strikes in a single batting appearance has struck out and is ruled out; a batter who accumulates four balls in a single appearance has drawn a base on balls (or "walk") and is awarded first base.
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.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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