59 feet, 1 inch

[WillyM]

One of the most familiar distances associated with baseball is that the pitcher must throw the ball 60 feet, 6 inches from the pitcher's mound to home plate.

I checked the rule book, and what it says is that 60 feet, 6 inches is actually the distance from the center of the front of the pitcher's rubber to the back point of home plate.

The official strike zone is defined as anything that crosses over any portion of home plate between the top and bottom of the zone.  Thus, the strike zone is three-dimensional, and the back point of that three-dimensional zone is 60 feet, 6 inches from the pitcher's rubber.

I'm not sure how many umpires actually call balls and strikes based on the three-dimensional strike zone.  My guess is that many, if not most, actually call it as a two-dimensional strike zone, like what you see when you watch a game on TV and they show you a pitch tracker which is a two-dimensional box.  Fans have come to think of the strike zone this way.

The Atlantic League and perhaps a Low-A league or two are planning to use an ABS (Automated Ball-Strike) system this season, which will have a computer calling pitches based on where they pass the front of the plate.  This essentially means that the strike zone will be redefined as two-dimensional, not three-dimensional.

If pitches are to be called based on where they pass the front of the plate, the old 60 feet, 6 inch distance will no longer be relevant.  Since the plate measures 17 inches from the front to the back point, the distance from the pitcher's rubber to the strike zone will be 60 feet, 6 inches less 17 inches, or 59 feet, 1 inch.

[connja]

That's cool - thanks for the cool observation.  I read somewhere that one of the minor leagues they are using for rule experimentation will move back the distance by 1 foot, and will play at 61 feel 6 inches today.