MLB is testing a check swing challenge system in the PCL. It would work great in theory, except that the line it uses to measure a swing/no swing is woefully different than what most fans would think. Yusei Kikuchi challenged the call below:

I honestly have no idea why the system allows you to be that far. It should just be a straight horizontal line at the end of home plate to check.

What the heck kind of line is that. Irate.

If you go back to very old film of baseball, they allowed batters to swing a lot further than they do now. This type of system may have a bigger impact on baseball than ABS because it will redefine the check swing.

I actually don't hate it. Because of the bat momentum, it's so hard to stop before the front of the plate. It might look awful, but it's probably pretty realistic

This is solid progress and moving that line to point at 2B would be the fair and proper thing to do.

So technically a bunt is never a swing?

The rulebook doesn't define a swing, it's intentionally subjective.

For years we've been seeing check swings being called strikes, that would have been called balls 20 years ago. IDK if the rule itself changed, but "intent" to swing used to be taken into consideration. Most check swings are called strikes today, it's terrible.

Believe it or not, there is no definition for what a check swing is. This is gonna be like the ABS “rule” all over again 🤦‍♂️

Dude you could literally hit a homer putting your bat that far out

That's great. We've gotten too strict on the check-swing strikes

Yeah. Its crazy. Most of those "checks" would be called by the home plate ump.

I still don’t understand this. They would have to change the rulebook. There is no imaginary line that constitutes a swing. The rulebook just says ‘an attempt’ with no actual definition of what an attempt is.

If that was the line umps were currently using pretty much every check swing would be called not a swing, no one would argue about and and they wouldnt need an electronic monitoring system for it.

Did the change the rule on check swings?

Wait… wtf…

Ok. Who gives a shit what fans think the line is

When I was a kid, they taught us that breaking the plane of the front of home plate was a strike. I guess that's dramatically different now.

This is in the FSL league as well, low A florida

Who ever came up with that line truly doesn’t understand what a full swing is. I’ve swings that didn’t go that far and were bloop singles into shallow outfield

Should be even with the front of the plate