ABS has shrunk the strike zone; walks are spiking as pitchers try to adjust

The strike zone is baseball’s sacred rectangle, the place where every bit of action on the field begins. Throwing strikes, taking balls and maximizing count leverage are the unseen forces that translate to fearsome strikeouts and mammoth home runs alike.What’s lost in the commotion of MLB’s new Automated Ball-Strike challenge system is that, for the first time since 1996, the definition of the strike zone has changed. Everyone in the league is adjusting not only to the ABS challenge system, but also to the differences and ripple effects of what nearly everyone agrees is a smaller zone.Advertisement