Major League Baseball "Strike Zone" Overlay

[Dibbons]

Tonight I find myself watching the first game this season of Major League Baseball which happens to be the fifth game of the world series (did not use the TV all summer long). This is the first time I was "introduced" to finding the strike zone being permanently outlined when the batter is on the television screen. I kept wishing for that box to disappear, I guess it was distracting me somehow.

Do you think I will I eventually get used to this new intrusion/technology or will it forever bug me? I can see like so many areas of life now, I won't have a choice but to go with the flow. Thank you.

 

[Mike Szadaj]

I personally find it to be very unobtrusive and also informative. I wonder if a lot of people thought the same way when The on all the time scoreboards popped up on screens. I couldn’t imagine watching a game Today without being able to turn a game on at any time and not immediately knowing the score, inning, time left, timeouts left, men on base, or whatever the information is for the sport you’re watching.

 

[moparedtn]

I pitched several years back in my youth, up until I (foolishly) walked away from the sport at 17....
....and I would have loved to have had that rectangle projected over home plate for me to aim at
sometimes.

 

[440 PHIXX]

Anyone remember the puck that was lit up in the NHL?

 

[ZR9B]

Anyone remember the puck that was lit up in the NHL?

That was awful!!!

 

[440 PHIXX]

That was awful!!!

I liked the one that went from blue to red when it was slapped!

 

[moparedtn]

Hell, it didn't help me follow the puck at all.

 

[Mike Szadaj]

Anyone remember the puck that was lit up in the NHL?

What about Peter Puck?
Having been born in an original six city, I was surprised to find out most of America was so unfamiliar with hockey that they had to be taught the basic rules.

 

[VFilms]

Tonight I find myself watching the first game this season of Major League Baseball which happens to be the fifth game of the world series (did not use the TV all summer long). This is the first time I was "introduced" to finding the strike zone being permanently outlined when the batter is on the television screen. I kept wishing for that box to disappear, I guess it was distracting me somehow.

Do you think I will I eventually get used to this new intrusion/technology or will it forever bug me? I can see like so many areas of life now, I won't have a choice but to go with the flow. Thank you.

I'm so glad there are fellow sufferers out there when it comes to that annoying strike zone box overlay. I've stopped watch baseball broadcasts because of it. As a former catcher I prefer to watch were the ball crossed the plate and how much the catcher pulls it back into the strike zone. Not were the computer tells me. And at what velocity. Apparently someone with some clout also felt it was a bit too much as they've lowered the opacity of the box so it is not as intrusive.
As for the 'Fox Box' as it is known - all the information in the lower third of the screen - I agree with Mike. First thing I look at when turning on any sporting event.

 

[Dipstick]

I'm not a baseball fan but I've always wondered how an umpire standing behind the catcher can determine strike zone especially with breaking balls. The zone box, to me, is merely a way for the watcher to judge the umpire's calls. I like it.

 

[Dibbons]

Things like this just irk me for some reason, like the self-checkouts in the grocery stores (excuse me, I like flirting sometimes with a human being).

 

[#41]

I like it because it gives a solid reference point for watching the ball dynamics as they sink, curve, etc. It really makes me appreciate the ability of the pitchers.

 

[YY1]

Kind of like the "line to gain" overlay in football.

Easier to watch the play and see the line in your periphery, than to keep looking for the numbers on the sidelines and calculating parallax error to extend them out onto the field depending on camera angle.

 

[MoparLeo]

Since the zone has depth that you can only see in a 3d mage, there needs to be a split screen overhead of the plate and the pitchers view at the same time to see it "nick" the corners.

 

[Mike Szadaj]

Since the zone has depth that you can only see in a 3d mage, there needs to be a split screen overhead of the plate and the pitchers view at the same time to see it "nick" the corners.

You are 100% correct that the strike zone extends from the front of the plate to the rear tip of the plate. The cost factor, and or technological insufficiencies might make it impractical for a feature that is purely For entertainment purposes. Of course if the aim was for the technology to call balls and strikes, similar to the way some line calls are made in tennis, the present system would be completely inadequate. Which brings up another question. Why is it that in tennis serves are called in or out by machine, but during play sideline and back line calls are made by people?

 

[5.7 hemi]

I’ve seen grass grow quicker and paint dry faster than a baseball game, more interesting too!

 

[Mike Szadaj]

I’ve seen grass grow quicker and paint dry faster than a baseball game, more interesting too!

I have the same opinion about soccer, and yet it is the most watched, most popular sport in the world. It is mostly a matter of taste and also what you grew up with.

 

[WileE]

I’ve seen grass grow quicker and paint dry faster than a baseball game, more interesting too!

As a baseball fan since Mantle & Maris... I agree. It has become, for the most part, intolerable.