Chicago Cubs starter Cody Poteet knew exactly what pitch he wanted to uncork to Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Max Muncy: a fastball down and away. But as the ball left his hand — in the first inning of ...

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article and an accompanying chart misstated the dimensions of the “buffer zone” used to evaluate umpires before this year. That buffer zone should have been ...

Training artificial intelligence to enforce even seemingly straightforward rules—like balls and strikes in Major League ...

Discover the most inventive baseball tactics used to steal strikes in this in-depth look at unconventional plays throughout ...

Definition. The official strike zone is the area over home plate from the midpoint between a batter's shoulders and the top of the uniform pants -- when the batter is ...

The unity of last year's dramatic and perfectly timed World Series is all but forgotten. Today, as a new season gets under way, billionaire owners and millionaire players are at it again. There is no ...

The good news for baseball fans is that the 2026 Major League Baseball season should go off without a hitch. The bad news is what comes after. On Dec. 1, 2026, the labor agreement between the league’s ...

MLB fans all remember one call by an umpire that stood out as both egregious and baffling. In some instances, it may have taken place early on in the game. In others, they were crucial calls late that ...

Only the batter, pitcher or catcher can challenge an umpire’s ball or strike call with the ABS system. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) Human umpires will remain behind the plate calling balls and ...

MESA, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 20: A general view of a video board displaying the outcome an automated balls and strikes prompt or ABS System during a spring training game between the Chicago Cubs and the ...