ontrary to the opinions of some elder umpires, who haven’t kept up with reality, and many younger umpires, who don’t know the history of the game, the official major league strike zone has changed through the years. Ditto Fed and NCAA. Now, to those official changes, add the various interpretations in theory and the variety of zones practiced, including the 68 zones in the MLB, and you’ve got yourself a regular plethora of zones.

Genesis

The strike zone wasn’t a part of the game until 1858. Then, as umpires first started calling strikes, the frame of reference used was any pitch at which the batter did not swing that was “within fair reach of the batter.”

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