Yang Hyun-jong (36, KIA Tigers), a "big pitcher" who is in his 18th year as a professional, made a determined statement about the automatic pitch determination system (ABS) and pitch clock, which will be newly introduced to the KBO league this season.

Yang Hyun-jong said in an interview with reporters ahead of his departure from the Australian spring camp at Incheon International Airport on the 30th, "ABS has never been experienced in the United States. Since the decision has been made, I will go to the camp and adjust, but personally, I think it will be difficult for pitchers. I think all pitchers who are unfamiliar with ABS will see it negatively (introducing the system)."

There is a great wind of change in the KBO league this season. On the 11th, the Korea Baseball Organization held its first board meeting in 2024 and confirmed the introduction of the Automatic Ball-Strike System (ABS). In addition, rules to expand the base size and limit defensive shifts will be introduced. The pitch clock will decide whether to introduce the system in the second half after a trial run in the first half. The rules against a pitcher's three batters will be implemented in the Futures League, and the KBO League's first division will decide to introduce the system later.

The new regulations that directly affect pitchers are ABS and pitch clock. ABS, called "robot referee," was introduced to minimize controversy over ball-strike decisions and strengthen the fairness of league operation. KBO has piloted ABS in the Futures League over the past four years. The first implementation committee prepared detailed operating standards on the 24th through meetings of team coaches, meeting of operation team leaders and expert advisory meetings including the executive committee, surveys of players who experienced ABS, and data sharing and discussion with the Major League secretariat.

Yang Hyun-jong said, "The strike zone will definitely be constant, but it will definitely be smaller than the strike zone we've seen so far. We'll have to go to camp and hit it, but I think it'll be a little hard for the pitcher."

According to the KBO, the left and right standards of ABS, which will be applied in the 2024 season, will be applied by expanding 2cm on both sides of the home plate. Regarding the phenomenon of increasing walks due to the ABS's accurate determination of the strike zone according to the rules, this is to minimize trial and error in the field due to rapid changes in the zone. In addition, the upper and lower criteria are judged as strikes only when the ball meets the upper and lower height criteria at two points on the middle and end of the home plate. Regardless of the catcher's port position and method, a strike is determined by whether he or she has passed by meeting the left and right, upper and lower criteria. The upper and lower heights are applied based on the ratio of the height of each player. The upper standard is 56.35% of the player's height, and the lower standard is 27.64% of the player's height. This ratio was based on the average upper and lower ratios of the existing referee strike zones.

He was also worried about the narrow strike zone, but he was also more concerned about the introduction of pitch clock, which can disturb the balance and pitching tempo that vary greatly from pitcher to pitcher. In order to apply the pitch clock rule suitable for the league, the KBO confirmed the detailed rule by analyzing detailed indicators such as the average pitching interval of last year's KBO League pitchers. The time limit between pitches is applied to 18 seconds when a runner is not on a floor and 23 seconds (15 seconds and 20 seconds, respectively, based on the Major League). Between the batter and the batter (between at-bats), a pitcher should be pitched within 30 seconds, and the catcher should be positioned in the forward position until the point when the remaining time of the pitch clock is nine seconds. The batter should be ready to hit by the time when there are eight seconds left. If this is violated, a ball is declared on the defense side and a strike is declared on the offensive side.

Yang Hyun-jong is the most winning pitcher in the KBO League alone with 168 wins, 113 losses and nine holds, 2,332 ⅓s, and 1947 strikeouts. Few pitchers have more experience than him, even as he plays for the Texas Rangers in the Major League. However, he was more concerned than glad about unfamiliar environments.

"I feel pressure to throw a ball within seconds, but it would be even more so for young, inexperienced players. If I have to throw at the desired balance to throw a strike, I am more likely to throw a strike, but under time pressure, I have negative thoughts such as 'Will I be able to hit a strike?' or 'Will I be able to throw a powerful ball?'" he said. "If that happens, I wonder if the pitch clock will reduce the duration of the game. It's a system for speed-up, so what will it be like?" he worried.

Yang's concerns are not okay. In fact, pitchers who practiced pitch clock at the closing camp last year were concerned about the pressure of their ball control and the risk of injury. "It's not hard to keep the time, but it's hard to throw the ball the way I want because there is pressure," said a player of another team who I met at the closing camp. Also, as I have to change the pitching rhythm and balance that I have been throwing, there is a risk of injury. I think I need time to get used to the pitching clock. If I start from middle and high school, I think I'll be okay."

If players are injured due to pressure from robot judges and pitch clocks, and the number of balls increases, the speedup that KBO wanted will become difficult. KBO has also prepared a safety device through a pilot operation of the first half of the pitch clock. For now, a warning is given without applying sanctions such as balls or strikes for violations. In addition, restrictions on departure from the pitch board, such as restriction on checks, do not apply. However, considerable trials and errors are expected.

Yang Hyun-jong said, "Our team also practiced pitch clock in the closing camp. I also measured the video I threw in seconds and compared it, and the time was wasted. Also, even if it is not pitch clock, I heard that when artificial intelligence referees enter high school baseball, the average number of walks increases by 18 to 20. It's hard to simply compare amateur and pro, but I think professional players will also suffer a little bit because the average figure goes up ridiculously. I think I need to work hard, too," he said.

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