An ABS zone 2.5 balls wider than in MLB: Why are Korean pitchers issuing so many 'ball, ball, ball, ball'? [Kim In-sik's One Word]

*This content was translated by AI.

This season, four pitchers stand out in Major League Baseball (MLB).

First is Milwaukee's right-hander Jacob Misiorowski (24, 7-2, ERA 1.50; records as of Nov. 11 Korea time). His fastball regularly exceeds 100 mph (161 km/h), reaching up to 103 mph (166 km/h). He started against Colorado on the 7th, throwing just 27 pitches through three innings and only 60 pitches through five innings (final: 98 pitches over seven innings, one earned run allowed, non-earned win). He issued exactly one walk in the fourth inning.

Next is Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (32, 6-2, ERA 1.06), who has thrown more four-seam fastballs and sweepers this year. When we faced him during national team games in the past, his top speed was around 98 mph, but now he easily exceeds 100 mph.

The third is Pittsburgh's right-hander Paul Skenes (24, 6-5, ERA 2.84). His velocity ranges from 98 to 100 mph; he is an incredibly strong pitcher with excellent movement on his pitches.

Finally, there is Philadelphia's Christopher Sanchez (30, 8-2, ERA 1.54), who pitched for the Dominican Republic in the March World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarterfinal against Korea (five innings, two hits allowed, scoreless). Despite being a left-handed pitcher, he throws sinkers inside to left-handed batters.

The commonality among these four pitchers is their low walk count. Misiorowski has issued 22 walks in 78 innings; Ohtani, 21 in 67⅔ innings; Skenes, 15 in 76 innings; and Sanchez, 18 in 93⅓ innings. This indicates they have been pitching by consistently throwing strikes and getting batters out with contact.

Now let's turn our eyes to the Korean Professional Baseball League. In my view, the ABS zone in the KBO League is wider than MLB's strike zone by about one ball horizontally on each side and vertically above, and about one and a half balls below. In total, it is 2.5 balls wider vertically. Conversely, this means the aforementioned MLB pitchers are demonstrating perfect control even within a narrower strike zone.

I also believe that Ryan Weiss (30), who won 16 games for Hanwha Eagles in the KBO League last year, has struggled with three wins and no losses and an ERA of 7.62 at Houston this season because the strike zone is narrower there compared to Korea. In nine games, he pitched 26 innings and issued 20 walks. This is a stark contrast to last year in Korea, when he allowed only 56 walks over 178⅔ innings.

Similarly, Cody Ponce (32, Toronto), who won 17 games for Hanwha last year, has fully recovered from injury. Observing what kind of pitching he shows upon his return will help us more accurately understand the impact of the strike zone change.

Despite the relatively wider strike zone, as of the 10th of this season, 2,368 walks have been issued in 305 games in the KBO League. That amounts to an average of 7.8 per game for both teams combined. Including 345 hit-by-pitches, a total of 2,713 pitches have been thrown inside (an average of 8.9 per game).

In particular, the control of middle relievers is often chaotic, leading to situations where teams that were leading by several runs end up losing in the later innings. Recently, I even saw a team allow five walks in a single inning.

Why is this happening? First, we must consider why pitchers lift one leg when throwing. It is to gather power on their back leg. As such, pitchers must be able to concentrate power perfectly from their legs and knees, through their waist, elbows, shoulders, and wrists.

Among these, the most critical point is that the 'power position,' where the greatest force is gathered during pitching, must not deviate more than 35–40 cm from the 'ear' on the throwing side. Although pitchers vary in type, whether overhand or sidearm, their elbow passes by their ear at the moment they bend it. You can also see this when infielders throw the ball with their hands raised toward their ears.

Next is the 'eyes.' Pitchers must focus on where the ball will land, yet they look elsewhere while throwing. Even though coaches and pitchers themselves know this, it remains only words without practice. Record pitching videos to verify this.

All four of the aforementioned MLB pitchers keep their eyes fixed straight toward the catcher, and their arm swings also move forward after passing by the ear. They are adhering properly to the basics of pitching.

Finally, pitchers must throw more balls during practice. When I was the coach of Dongguk University's baseball team in the past, I once observed the basketball team's training. Every day, players come out at dawn and shoot 500 shots each. To make a basket, one must focus their eyes on the rim.

The same applies to golf. To sink the ball into the hole from the green, one must practice putting hundreds of times a day. Even when playing games like marbles in childhood, mustn't we concentrate our eyes?

If these basics of 'ear' and 'eyes' are not maintained, the ball will inevitably leave the strike zone and go astray.

I urge on-site coaches: In amateur baseball, pitchers should be encouraged to throw more balls during training. In professional baseball, they must be taught game management skills. I hope they are thoroughly instructed on how to respond in specific situations, such as certain counts or game scenarios.

/Kim In-sik, former Korea national baseball team manager (currently a senior advisor to the KBO)

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*This content was translated by AI.