The Strike Zone Appears to be Bigger

The strike zone is defined by the rulebook. Derek Jeter's strike zone was defined by Derek Jeter.

The rulebook says the strike zone is the area over home plate between the batter's knees and the midpoint of the torso. This is a useful definition. It applies to most batters in most situations. It is the kind of definition that works well in a world where everything is consistent and fair and no one has been the captain of the New York Yankees for twenty years in a manner that has apparently created a gravitational effect on the perceptions of home plate umpires in the vicinity of the outside corner. Derek Jeter hit .310 for his career. He did this while operating within a strike zone that analysts and opposing fans and eventually some very frustrated opposing managers noticed was somewhat more expansive than the one described in the rulebook, particularly on pitches away, particularly in big moments, particularly at Yankee Stadium, particularly when it mattered, which for Derek Jeter was most of the time. The pitches in question were not always strikes. They were called strikes. There is a difference. There was also, separately, a Derek Jeter who was very good at baseball in ways that had nothing to do with the strike zone, and those things are also true, and the two sets of facts coexist in the public record and in the memories of everyone who watched him play, and the question of which set of facts is more interesting depends entirely on which team you were rooting for at the time, which is not a question this shirt is prepared to adjudicate.

The Derek Jeter Strike Zone tee is for Yankees fans who watched The Captain operate within his own personal rulebook edition of the strike zone and found this entirely appropriate, and for everyone else who watched the same thing and found it extremely not appropriate and have thoughts about it that remain unresolved. District DM130 Perfect Tri® Tee — featherlight, broken-in soft, available in Grey Frost, Navy Frost, and White. A shirt for people who remember the calls and have opinions about them.

• 4.5 oz. — light enough for a fan who is still thinking about a called strike three from 2003 that has not left them, not even a little bit
• 50% polyester / 25% combed ring-spun cotton / 25% rayon — tri-blend construction that holds together through a full season of watching the outside corner get called in ways that benefit one specific shortstop who is very good at baseball and also apparently very good at existing in close proximity to the rulebook without being fully governed by it
• Rib-knit neck that holds its shape through the broadcaster saying he gets that call in a tone that suggests this has happened before and is expected to happen again and there is nothing further to discuss
• Tear-away label — no irritation at the collar, just a clean, well-built shirt for someone who has watched a pitch six inches off the plate get called a strike and had a complex reaction that required a moment to process
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping for a structured fit appropriate for someone standing in Yankee Stadium when the Captain is at the plate and the outside corner is, as it has always been, a matter of some interpretive flexibility
• Available in Grey Frost, Navy Frost, and White — Yankees colors for a fan watching a Yankees legend operate within the specific and personal gravitational field he created around home plate over a twenty-year career in pinstripes

Size Chart