Midlo Dad posted:
My only caveat would be that we need to get straight how the machine sets up its box. The sides of the plate are stationary, but the upper and lower limits have to be reset with every new batter. If you read the rule book and then look at K Zone on TV, the K Zone box cuts off a fair amount of the upper strike zone. I don't know why this is or who's programming that thing, but they should be fired. Right now, the upper line tends to get set at the belt buckle, and that's not what the rule book says. I don't remember anyone telling the K Zone people, "Ignore the rule book and keep doing what the umpires have been doing." I thought the whole point of K Zone was to push the umps to get back to the rules as published, but at the upper limit, it's not happening. Not yet, anyway.
The Trackman operator marks a line "at the batter's belt as he settles into the hitting position", then the software adds 4" to establish the top of the zone. That's obviously not the same as "the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants". That's an MLB decision, not the programmer's decision. They use those numbers to evaluate umpires, so I assume they want it to more closely resemble the real world. The official strike zone has changed before, it's way past time to change it again.