Expanding the Strike Zone

Modeling Pitcher Effectiveness in a Fluid Strike Zone

Project About Me Blog

Project Description

In a game of inches, the shifting strike zone can be an important factor in determining the outcome of Major League Baseball games. In baseball, pitchers attempt to "expand the strike zone" by varying their pitch location, speed, and sequence to get batters to swing at pitches that would otherwise be called balls. This analysis helps uncover the pitcher batter duel and explain how and when pitchers are best able to manipulate the strike zone to their advantage.



Questions and Scope of Analysis

    Analyzing the Strike Zone
  1. Does the strike zone change over the season?

    2. Pitch Placement
  2. How often does a pitcher throw outside of the strike zone? Does this happen more today than previous years?

    3. The Batter's Approach
  3. How often do batters swing at pitches outside of the strike zone?
  4. Does the batter's count influence when they swing outside of the zone?

    5. Analyzing Pitcher Effectiveness
  5. Do the best rated pitchers throw more pitches outside of the strike zone?
  6. Which pitchers are most effective at getting batters to swing outside of the zone?

    7. Predictive Modeling
  7. What should a pitcher throw next against a batter?


Gantt Chart