Feb. 26, 1963 - The Yankees stand-out left-hander, Whitey Ford, today professed to be unconcerned about the new, enlarged strike zone. Under the new rule, which is to go into effect this spring, the zone has been increased from the batter’s armpits to the top of his shoulders and from a point just above to a point just below the knee. Said Ford: “I doubt whether it’s going to make a helluva lot of difference. When you get right down to it, a pitch is a ball or a strike according to how the umpire sees it. The knee stuff in particular isn’t going to mean much. How can an umpire, looking down over a catcher’s shoulder, tell exactly where the batter’s kneecap is while he watches a low pitch zip across the plate? You’ll probably hear a lot of squawking this year from pitchers and batters alike. I’ll probably do a lot myself. But I’m pretty sure it will adjust itself by the time the regular season opens, and we’ll be getting the same good and bad calls we always can count on for sure.”
