Yankees prove rulebook strike doesn't match ABS zone in MLB nonsense

What if I told you that the strike zone written in the MLB rulebook isn't the strike zone that the ABS challenge system uses to determine a ball and a strike?

Well, that'd be the truth. On Monday night, the New York Yankees found themselves in the middle of such a conundrum.

Giancarlo Stanton was at the plate against Luis Castillo, who threw a breaking ball toward the center of the plate. The only question was whether it had been high enough or dropped too low out of the zone.

The home plate umpire called it a strike. Stanton challenged, and it was overturned to a ball.

But the confusing part is in the rules.

The rulebook strike zone is considered three-dimensional and starts at the front of home plate.

The ABS zone is considered two-dimensional and is measured at the middle of home plate.

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So a pitch could actually cross at the knees at the front of the plate but be just low by the middle of the plate.

What's an umpire supposed to do? This pitch raises that question:

Technological reasons likely explain why ABS is measured where it is, but it seems nonsensical that there could be two different strike zones technically in use. 

As this new system goes forward, the league will likely have to determine how it wants to handle this.

For now, it can create some confusion -- the umpire might actually be calling pitches on a different standard than the computer is considering.

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