Directors read the angry check swing video and adjust the S-zone for the pilot introduction of the 2nd Army next year
Dec 04, 2024
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KBO announced the results of the 6th Executive Committee meeting on the 4th. The first prominent part is the ABS (automatic ball/strike judgment) system, which was introduced in the first group this year. This season's ABS strike zone applied 56.35% at the top and 27.64% at the bottom in proportion to the height of the batter.
KBO listened to opinions through team surveys and conducted a review on the majority of opinions that the upper strike zone adjustment was necessary.
Based on this season's game indicators, ABS decision zone comparison analysis, and expected changes due to strike zone adjustments, the executive committee has been discussing zone settings to be applied from the 2025 season, and has finally decided to lower the top and bottom by 0.6 percentage points (about 1 cm for players of 180 cm in height) to apply 55.75% at the top and 27.04% at the bottom.
The size of the zone becomes a form in which the whole moves down without changing. In addition to the upper end and the lower end of the zone, the middle surface and the end surface of the strike zone, the left and right widths, etc. are maintained.
The decision was made in consideration of the fact that the ABS zone is formed higher than the existing strike zone through the process of collecting opinions from experts TF meetings, players, coaches, and field officials that have been ongoing during the season, while also allowing additional confusion due to the current league's high-pitcher tendency and rapid adjustment.
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KBO plans to do its best to operate a fair and stable ABS that can satisfy both baseball fans and players by continuously communicating with the field and studying improvement measures.
Detailed regulations on pitch clock, which will be officially introduced next season, have also been confirmed.
The detailed regulations are expected to reduce unnecessary time and expand pitch clocks at international competitions to show more exciting games to fans, not for the purpose of sanctions, so the government has adjusted the scope to minimize the confusion and impact of rapid changes on performance.
In particular, it was decided not to impose restrictions on the departure of pitcher plates, unlike Major League Baseball (twice) and CPBL (three times), as it was judged that not introducing restrictions on the departure of pitcher plates would help induce the use of various strategies during games and maintain a natural flow of games.
The interval between at-bats was set at 33 seconds, the pitching interval of pitchers was set at 20 seconds when there was no runner, and 25 seconds when there was a runner. The number of timeouts for batters per at-bat will be allowed up to two innings.
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The inning shift time and pitcher replacement time were also partially adjusted to reflect the opinions of the field. The inning shift time increased from the current 2 minutes to 2 minutes and 10 seconds, and the pitcher replacement time during the inning was moved by 10 seconds from 2 minutes and 20 seconds to 2 minutes and 10 seconds.
Other items also refer to overseas league cases such as MLB and CPBL, which are currently operating by introducing the pitch clock system, and set the most suitable application time in the KBO league by comprehensively reflecting the opinions of the field and experts collected through the TF meeting.
Regarding the review of the check swing video, which was suggested to be introduced at the site, it has been confirmed that it will be introduced on a trial basis at some stadiums in the Futures League for now next season.
The criteria for determining the check swing are as follows.
When the batter swings the bat with the intention of hitting the pitcher's pitched ball, the umpire judges it as a swing strike when the angle of the bat is shifted toward the pitcher rather than the point parallel to the front of the home plate. (90 degrees KBO and 135 degrees Arizona Education League based on the batter's side.)
KBO has been collecting on-site opinions and conducting on-site tests to prepare related regulations. Since August, some stadiums have installed and piloted check swing reading cameras and have been considering the appropriateness of their use with the video they secured. In addition, cases of overseas leagues such as the U.S. and Japan were closely reviewed during the season, and in November, judges and staff were dispatched to investigate and analyze the 「Check Swing Challenge」, which is being piloted in the Arizona Education League.
As a result of the investigation, it was confirmed that the US also believes that additional verification will be needed over time in terms of the accuracy and completeness of the judgment, and that it is a very careful position to introduce it.
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However, due to environmental differences in camera installation at each stadium, Futures Stadium with an environment suitable for equipment installation will be selected and piloted.
It also decided to expand the range of runners to the main players in relation to the three-foot line rules for batters.
In the existing home, the rule that had to run inside the 3-foot lane drawn on the ground in the second half of the first base was expanded to allow it to run to the dirt inside the fair area on the first base. The rule has been revised by Major League Baseball since this season, and it is expected that the inconvenience and confusion experienced by right-handed hitters will be minimized by clarifying the scope of runners.
However, stepping on the grass and running on it does not necessarily mean that the runner is out, and if the judge determined that he interfered with the fielder who ran over the infield lawn and handled the throw to the first base, he decided to deal with the rule violation.
To this end, the width of the inside of the first base foul line, which is currently different for each stadium, will be adjusted so that all stadiums are equally matched before next year's exhibition game.
The revision of the rules will be finalized after discussion at the KBO Rules Committee.
youll@sportschosun.com
