By using the percentage of a player\u2019s height MLB hopes to ensure everyone\u2019s strike zone remains the appropriate size, that way you don\u2019t have a situation where someone like Jose Altuve (5-foot-6) has the same sized zone as someone like Aaron Judge (6-foot-7). But in other respects the zone has fundamentally changed, with the biggest difference being the use of a 2D zone set in the middle of the plate instead of a 3D one measured from the front.<\/p>\n
That change has prompted a wide range of reactions. Speaking from personal experience, my cousin has been blowing up my phone all week about the new zone \u2014 he\u2019s not a fan \u2014 and ESPN\u2019s \u201cPardon The Interruption\u201d even dedicated their annual April Fools prank segment to the subject, satirically suggesting that MLB was apologizing to the umpires union because the 2D zone was missing breaking balls clipping the front of the plate.<\/p>\n
So why do it that way instead of how umpires have historically constructed their zones? An MLB spokesperson provided a presentation to the Herald given by Joe Martinez, MLB\u2019s Vice President of On-Field Strategy and a former MLB pitcher, during a press conference in Arizona on Feb. 13.<\/p>\n
According to Martinez, MLB did originally test a 3D zone but found it was prone to strange calls.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason that we landed there, we tested all different kinds of things, a 3D zone or setting it at the front led to some odd strike calls in a way,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cYou can envision a slow 12-6 curveball just clipping the bottom corner and the catcher would catch it toward the dirt, and that would be called a strike. So moving that zone back more in line with where the hitter is led to results that were more in line with expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Cincinnati](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26090600528443.jpg\")
Cincinnati Reds third baseman Sal Stewart, left, waits for an Automated Ball-Strike System during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, March 30, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo\/Kareem Elgazzar)<\/p>\n
Martinez said defining the strike zone was the hardest question MLB had to answer when testing the ABS system and acknowledged that the league\u2019s solution was \u201cdefinitely a change.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though we think of the strike zone as kind of a set thing, umpires traditionally have called something that is kind of flexible,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cIt depends on count, game situation, score, all those things, the strike zone tends to expand and contract based on those types of things. So we\u2019re putting a definition on the strike zone now that is different from what we\u2019ve done before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Generally speaking the ABS challenge system has been well received. The league said it conducted a fan survey throughout spring training in 2025 which found that 52% of respondents said ABS had a \u201cvery positive\u201d impact on their experience at the game and another 20% said \u201cslightly positive.\u201d Less formal polls by MLB Trade Rumors<\/a> and ESPN<\/a> found high levels of support for the challenge system, too, but as with any rule change in baseball there has been some level of apprehension as well.<\/p>\n
![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP25276094790879.jpg\")
Over the past year Walpole’s Cam Schlittler has emerged as one of the top young pitchers in baseball. (AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura)![\"Pittsburgh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26093763528624.jpg\")
Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Konnor Griffin hits an RBI double in his first big league at-bat during the second inning of Friday’s game in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo\/Gene J. Puskar)