we’ve been watching the SCHN+ broadcasts with no harmful side effects, other than what the team’s been doing on the field.
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Counterpoint: Fuck the Yankees and double fuck Aaron Boone.
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I don’t disagree. No one can argue balls and strikes quite like Boone and the Yankees. They are the masters of whining.
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That is interesting.
Clipping the corner of the plate isn’t a strike?
According to the rules, yes, it’s a strike. According to ABS, it’s not.
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Per the rulebook, the strikezone is a 3 dimensional shape that includes the entire area above the plate.
Per ABS, it’s the middle of the strikezone in a 2 dimensional rectangle.
So you could clip a part of the plate with a moving pitch that doesn’t register as a strike in the middle, but WAS a strike (per the rulebook) at the front or back.
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Is it correct that when a batter checks his swing, the bat must cross the entire plate from back to front?
Officially, there is no designation for what a swing is other than swinging
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I didn’t phrase that well. What I meant, for a checked swing to be called a strike, the bat must cross from the back to the front of the plate. If it stops half way, it is not a strike. It that correct?
They’re testing a rule that would define it much more favorably for hitters than the conventionally accepted range. Under the proposed rule, an attempt would only count as a swing if the bat goes all the way to parallel with the base line opposite the hitter (so a righty could bring the bat all the way to parallel with the first base line before it could be called a swinging strike). Initial testing showed a reduction in strikeouts under this rule, so they’re giving it a bigger trial in AAA, where the teams can challenge a swing/no swing call the same way they can challenge any other ball or strike.
No, it’s not.
As stated above, there presently is no set definition of what a checked swing is other than “an attempt to strike at the ball.”
So when they appeal to another base it’s just as arbitrary as if they don’t.
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Yes and no. The base ump has a better view of how far around they went. However, the base ump’s definition of a check swing can vary from ump to ump, so… kinda.
Right, an umpire could interpret every half swing as an attempt to strike the ball and be technically correct
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Correct. A swinging strike is simply a pitch “struck at and missed”. There is no other definition. Most umpires go by a 45-degree rule, meaning if the bat crosses more than 45 degrees across the plate they’ll call it a strike, but that is convention, not rule. And it’s also subjective. Kind of like the rules on lefties throwing to 1B. The rules say you must step “towards the base”. What does that mean? 45 degrees is a standard convention, but it is not defined as such.
Or every checked swing as clear evidence the batter did not intend to strike the ball.
To quote the great man:
“Attempted murder? Now honestly, what is that?”
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Astros are guilty of attempted pitching
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Are they actually making an effort though?
Sadly, yes.
I think they used up all their pitching magic last year