Unbeknownst To Teams, MLB Quietly Changed The Strike Zone, With Massive Results

Major League Baseball reportedly changed the strike zone during the offseason, leading to dramatic changes in how pitches are being called in 2025.

According to a new report by The Athletic, the league negotiated with the umpires' union to change how they're graded and rated. With more than a month's worth of games now behind us, players have noticed that the zone has changed significantly. And they're a bit surprised that ball and strike calls were adjusted without much notice.

The Athletic spoke to several players and coaches who confirmed that the zone has changed and that it's impacted every level of how the game is played and coached. Pitch sequencing, framing, planning for hitter-pitcher matchups, and the models teams use to rate talent on both sides of the ball.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred . (Photo by Tony Avelar/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

Umpires Changing Strike Zones Across MLB

It's not new that MLB gives out grades to umpires based on how accurately they call balls and strikes. Those grades can determine postseason appointments, as well as negatively impact job status. 

For most of the last 20 years, umpires have had a 2-inch "buffer zone" on all sides of the plate where they aren't penalized for making an "incorrect" call. But for the 2025 season, that zone is just 0.75 inches, meaning umpires are penalized for making calls that miss by large margins in any quadrant of the plate.

MLB officials said they informed key personnel about the change, and that it's paying immediate dividends on called-strike accuracy.

"We informed the GMs and field managers that we were seeking this change during the offseason," one league official told The Athletic, "and again informed the clubs when the umpire CBA was ratified. Overall ball-strike accuracy in 2025 is the highest it has ever been through this point in the season."

Several managers said they didn't recall anyone communicating the change with them.

"I don’t remember having any communication with anybody at any point in time saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to tighten it up,’" said Mike Shildt from the San Diego Padres. "Not at all. I try to pay attention during the meetings. … I would have thought it would grab my attention. I would probably share that with (his coaches)."

"No, I didn’t know that," said Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

Other team front office officials said they'd have constructed their rosters differently had they realized the change was coming. With more pitches off the plate now, correctly called balls, there's more value in patience. More balls means more walks for hitters able to recognize the new buffer zone.

This change is overall positive. There are few things more frustrating than seeing a missed call on a pitch several inches off the plate, but with umpires now concerned about hurting their grades by being too aggressive, the egregiously bad calls seem to be declining. Though, as catcher Travis d'Arnaud pointed out, it's also led to more strikes inside the zone getting missed.

Still, as the league rapidly approaches the automated balls and strikes system, we're the closest we've been to the strike zone being called the way it's supposed to be. Thank goodness Angel Hernandez is retired.