Deadball era strike zone

[usernamealreadytaken]

Looking at some deadball era postcards, t3s, etc. one notices how catchers stood behind the plate only slightly crouched down. Obviously a high strike zone would produce more ground balls - it’s hard to hit a homerun with a ball up at the letters. Any merit to this thinking?

[RedsFan1941]

i think high strikes actually produce more fly balls than ground balls

[Leon]

No doubt about it. That said, for what little power I have had batting in baseball/softball, I hit farthest when hitting high ones (as many others do too, it seems). So maybe it's power and grounders from high hard ones?

Originally Posted by RedsFan1941

i think high strikes actually produce more fly balls than ground balls

[JollyElm]

There's another way to look at it, too, that supports the original premise. If I'm at bat, concerned with the high pitches being strikes, my focus will be more concentrated up there, and my stance would reflect it. If the bottom of the strike zone was still at my knees, then I would be less likely to react 'correctly' to low pitches and get the meat of the bat on them, and the end result would probably be a lot more ground balls. (Unless, of course, I Rickey Henderson-crouched it.)