Roegele: The expanded strike zone … it’s baaaack
From SABR member Jon Roegele at The Hardball Times on May 29, 2015:
The changing of the guard at the MLB Office of the Commissioner prior to this season has prompted an openness to make adjustments to the game with an eye toward improving fan experience. Run scoring has been relatively depressed in recent seasons, with an expanding strike zone being one of the major culprits. There is an argument to be made that fans would prefer to see more runs scored, and so the league’s Competition Committee is monitoring the strike zone in 2015 for this reason.
When I checked in on the strike zone after just the first weeks of this season, its overall size was noticeably smaller than last year. In addition, while the bottom of the strike zone was as robust as it was during the initial weeks of the 2014 season, there was still room for it to grow to reach the level where it settled by the end the year.
Now two months into the season, the story has changed. The fact that the zone has been expanding downward since the start of spring training has been noted elsewhere, and these numbers paint the same picture.
Read the full article here: http://www.hardballtimes.com/the-expanded-strike-zone-its-baaaack/
Originally published: May 30, 2015. Last Updated: May 30, 2015.