A Strike Box, Called K-Zone, So Viewers Can Have their Main Focal Point Completely Obscured

I watched ESPN’s Monday Night Baseball for the first time this season for a few minutes. The Yankees were battling the Reds in interleague play.

For those baseball fans who don’t know where the strike zone is or question the umpire’s judgment, the brilliant minds at ESPN have put a rectangle superimposed over the home plate area to point out what was a ball or a strike. It was on the viewing screen for every pitch in the bottom of the 9th inning.

I quickly turned off the game before it ended and put on the radio. It was unwatchable.

I was reminded of FOX’s failed “improvement” to professional hockey called “FoxTrax” which lasted for a couple of years in the mid 1990’s for NHL national broadcasts. If you liked following a glowing blue glob (the puck)  and having televised hockey look like a video game, then this was the technology for you.

If you need this visual aid for the strike zone, I suggest you take some masking tape and outline a box on your television screen.

Good move ESPN.