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Ed:
The word from Alderson's office is that they are trying to avoid the "Three balls above the belt" and the "8 to 9 inches above the belt" references that had floated around prior to Chandler. Someone pointed out that they couldn't have a consistent defined distance because, by rule, it should change with each batter.
Three balls above the belt would be fine with a 6-1 first baseman but suck with a 5-9 second baseman. That's why they went with the tape at what they now refer to as the mid-point mentioned in the rule book.
Patrick:
I agree. After having researched this for two weeks for a four part article at Eumpire, I am convinced that a "change" will happen and some form of it will stick.
Alderson, love him or hate him, has done a hell of a sales job on this and right now has the owners, player's association, coaches and umpires all singing in the chorus.
GB
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GB
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