Is the strike zone in baseball relative to the batter's height?

Question

Is the strike zone relative to the batter's size? So if a dwarf comes up to bat, is the strike zone smaller than if Barry Bonds' comes to bat.

Answer 1

Yes supposed to be from the knees to just above the waist, and the width of the plate.

Answer 2

Yes. In fact, one manager (I'm sorry that I don't know the name) sent a midget up to the plate in one game. The batter, whose number was 1/8, was so short that he walked each time up and now there's a height requirement in baseball.

According to chapter 2 of the baseball rulebook, the bottom of the strike zone is the bottom of the batter's knees and the top is the midpoint between his waist and his shoulders. The strike zone has an equal width for all batters. Strike zones are different sizes for different hitters, but most batters are nearly the same size, so it doesn't make a huge difference.

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Answer 3

The strike zone is a conceptual rectangular area over home plate which defines the boundaries through which a pitch must pass in order to count as a strike when the batter does not swing.

Technically, the top of the strike zone is the mid-level between the top of the batter's shoulders and his belt, and the bottom is at the level just beneath the knee cap. The right and left boundaries of the strike zone correspond to the edges of home plate.

You will often here the phrase - "From the letters to the knees" The strike zone is the area between the "letters" (ie the team name across the chest) down to the players knees.

So, to answer your question, Yes, it is relative to the batter's size.

In fact, the St. Louis Browns were an American League Team from 1902 -1953 (They became the Baltimore Orioles). In 1951, they were purchased by Bill Veeck who was known for wild antics. His most notorious stunt in St. Louis was to send Eddie Gaedel, a midget, to bat as a pinch hitter. When Gaedel stepped to the plate he was wearing a Browns uniform with the number 1/8, and little slippers turned up at the end like elf's shoes. Gaedel was only 3'7". It is reported that while "at bat," he squatted as low as he could so that his strike zone was only an inch and a half. Needless to say, he was walked on 4 pitches. Even funnier is that when Gaedel hinted that he might be tempted to swing at a pitch, Veeck promised to station a sniper in the stands.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v94/pjmad/180px-Gaedel.jpg

Answer 4

Basically, yeah. It really depends on what kind of mood the umpire is in, and who the pitcher and the batter are. If Albert Pujols (great hitter) is batting against Seth McClung (decent pitcher, doesn't strike people out too often), and a pitch is borderline, or barely a strike, it would often be called a ball. The same goes for a hitter who strikes out a lot and an amazing strikeout pitcher.

But for those umpires who aren't too bias, the strike zone is typically from around the batters knees to about the letters on the players jersey. Across, it is supposed to be the edges of home plate.

Answer 5

Yes, a strike zone is relative to the batters height. In general, the strike zone is from the "letters" (most teams have some sort of logo/letters/something on their chest) to the knees. So your dwarfs strike zone would be from the letters to the knees..which is a lot shorter than Barry Bonds.

Answer 6

The official strike zone is defined as "that area over home plate the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the knee cap. The Strike Zone shall be determined from the batter's stance as the batter is prepared to swing at a pitched ball."

Of course, very few umpires call it that way, each creating their own version. This especially holds true, and can be very frustrating, with regards to calls made on the outer edges of the plate.

Answer 7

i think of it would thrilling if baseball did use a working laptop or computing device generated strike zone. it would spectacular each and every of the terrible calls that umpires have made. it would additionally make it greater thrilling to exhibit screen the reactions of gamers who adventure the various strike calls from the gadget. I doubt Baseball will prefer to improve this technologies. in the event that they do, it will take some years and greater than a number of attempting out until eventually now they think of of bringing this kind of thought to professional baseball.

Answer 8

The strike zone is usually from the batter's knees to his letter's(midchest). But, it can vary depending on how the umpire like's to call balls and strikes.

Answer 9

Yes

Answer 10

the strike zone is from the hitter's knees to his numbers so the answer is yes. the shorter the guy, the shorter area there is to pitch to