re: It seems like runs are up in baseball this year

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I believe the strike zone has expanded over the past few years. Not the rulebook zone, but what is actually called. Especially low. I'm fine with baseball as it is now, but if they wanted more runs/less strikeouts, a tighter, more textbook zone would probably help.

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I think that is true, and there has been talk of raising the zone, which I don't think is a bad idea. My personal suspicion is that called zone increase is the result of more fastballs being thrown, which are easier for an umpire to track and call.

I'd like to see more hitters modify their approach to increase contact rates, especially late in counts. I also wouldn't mind seeing extreme defensive shifts bunted out of existence.