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In recent years, MLB has undergone some great advancements. One of which happened early this year. It was a great hit, introducing the pitch clock due to its commercially viable angle. The pitchers however were not on board with this ticking clock. 

Ones on the mound preferred getting comfortable and spent some time in their pre-pitching rituals getting into their form. The discomfort felt on the diamond, with the clock in place raised some eyebrows. With that, the MLB commissioner has finally stepped in with a plan. 

The controversial decision takes a turn

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The controversial pitch clock, a move spearheaded by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was designed to quicken the pace of games. However, it did not sit well among the pitchers. However, as inconvenient as the clock is among the players, it has yielded better viewership with less waste of time. Clearly, the intention of the clock was to increase the pace of play and cut short the game time. Only the latter of which was achieved. The ‘Man Who Hates Baseball’, infamously known so, in a surprising turn of events has paid attention to the anti-pitcher move. 

via Imago

The Life Of Players Get Easier With These Changes

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The ‘man who hates baseball’ did lean in for a pro pitcher plan. The appeal from the MLB Players Association did not go in vain after all. Earlier this year, the MLB Players Association requested to add a few extra seconds to the clock, given that on-pitch delays would not affect the game all in all. The reluctance to do so by the MLB commissioner left the players disappointed. Apart from tweaking the clock algorithm, a few more changes ensued. 

This season, the bots were programmed to call a two-dimensional zone based on where the ball crossed the midpoint of the plate, 8 1/2 inches from the front and the back. In addition to that, MLB has reduced the top of the zone from 57% of the batter’s height to 51% Earlier, the system took the average of the batter’s heights, rather than taking into account their stance. This led to changing the camera positioning. 

Read More: Milwaukee Brewers Edge Towards an Oakland Athletics-Style Destiny as ‘Man Who Hates Baseball’ Strikes With Masterplan Again

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The Hawk-Eye pose-tracking system of cameras will be installed at the bottom of the strike zone. This will be at an individual’s back knee at each ballpark. The top of it will be 5 1/2 inches over the center of the measurements of the left and right hips of the player. These changes are set to make things easier for the players and also not alter the game viewing experience of fans. Not to mention the commercial aspect of the analytics too. 

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