From driver’s licenses to Tinder, the phenomenon of men lying about their height is woven into our society—but so far, only in Major League Baseball has this behavior led to a competitive advantage. The Automated Battling Challenge (ABS) system will be implemented this season following a trial in 2025, which means every player in baseball will be accurately measured by the system, with some hilarious results.
We see a lot of players who claim to be over 6’0 suddenly fall below the mark. Alex Bregman, who recently signed with the Chicago Cubs, has magically shrunk from his 6-foot frame with the Houston Astros to 5-foot-11 with the Red Sox and is now 5-foot-10 in Chicago. Likewise, Gavin Lux, previously a stocky 6-foot-1, 27-year-old, has lost a few inches.
This happens because the league must obtain accurate strike zone data for each player, which means getting their complete and accurate measurements. To do that, they need to codify the strike zone throughout baseball, moving away from the loose interpretation of “from top of pants to batter’s shoulders.”
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Specifically, the strike zone for all players is now defined as 17 inches across home plate, but in terms of height, the zone now starts at 27 percent of a player’s height, which falls roughly around the waist of most players, and extends to 53.5 percent of a player’s height. MLB says this is a general decrease in umpire calls, which they found averaging 24.2% to 55.6%, meaning the strike zone is smaller and therefore fewer strikes.
Theoretically lied about your height in the past should Always a disadvantage, but referees focus on what they see, not the numbers on the paper. If the ball is above your shoulders or below your belt, it’s a ball regardless of the player’s height ratio. Now, balls and strikes can be a challenge, and you must measure accurately for the ABS software to work.
Interestingly, MLB tried to use 3D models to turn the strike zone into a cube, but claimed it would cause problems. Adding depth to the equation allows a pitcher to draw an unnatural corner of the strike zone, which the ABS would claim as a strike, but which doesn’t make sense based on previous understanding of the zone. As a result, MLB abandoned that experiment in favor of using ABS on a 2D plane, as we have historically understood the area.
Now you know why some of your favorite players might act more like the diminutive kings at the plate than the burly six-footers they’ve claimed to be over the years. Personally, as a man under six feet, boys, just own it. There’s nothing wrong with being shorter—except when it comes to buying dress pants. When you are shorter, tighten the inseam size of your dress pants.
