Monday, October 13, 2014

Study: Strike Zone Was Expanded Again In 2014

The authoritative website, HarballTimes.com, has published a new study that clearly shows another expansion of the strike zone in 2014. Interestingly, the zone is continuing to expand downward—with 2014's average size of the called strike zone increasing 3.5% over 2013. This, of course, is part of the reason why offense is off so dramatically in baseball and pitching has become so dominant. In fact, "expected runs" have dropped an incredible 43% since 2008 (from 2,606 to 1,489). If the new Commissioner really wants to appeal to a younger, offense-starved audience he needs to consider some solution to this trend.