He wasn’t 6 feet tall, he’d never been 6 feet tall, and it was clear at this point in Miguel Rojas’ life, he was never going to be 6 feet tall. But what he was, was close enough to 6 feet tall to get away with it.
“I always pressed the guys who did the measurement to leave me as 6 feet,” said the Dodgers infielder. “Because I was like, ‘I’m so close to being 6 feet. What can we do? What can we do to put me at 6 feet?’ I think it’s better optics.”
Today, Rojas is like more than half of MLB hitters across the game: shorter than ever.
Once listed at 6 feet, Rojas is now suddenly listed at 5-foot-10 — reflecting his true height, much like the hundreds of ballplayers who shrunk under the microscope of MLB’s strict and standardized new measuring system, one far more accurate than the loose and relaxed ways of the past.
Of the 430 hitters on Opening Day rosters, 225 lost at least one inch off their previously listed heights in 2024 and 2025, according to data compiled by The Athletic through players’ official and historical heights on MLB.com. Six have lost three inches, 48 have lost two inches, and 171 lost one inch. On the other side, 45 players gained an inch, and two players gained two.
Height changes in MLB
| Players who | Number |
|---|---|
|
Lost 3 inches |
6 |
|
Lost 2 inches |
48 |
|
Lost 1 inch |
171 |
|
Gained 1 inch |
45 |
|
Gained 2 inches |
2 |
In total, baseball players lost nearly 20 feet worth of height thanks to the more precise measurements. That equates to three full Aaron Judge-sized human beings, vanishing off the face of the sport. An issue once reserved for the NFL combine or dating app disasters has now reached the shores of MLB.
“It’s age,” Angels catcher Travis d’Arnaud said with a smile. “Everybody gets shorter with age.”
d’Arnaud went from 6-foot-2 to 6 feet flat, with the 37-year-old noting that he’d been listed at 6-foot-2 since he entered the league 14 seasons ago.
“It’s always been like that, from what I remember. I feel like everybody always put an inch or two taller,” he said, while expressing some relief with the number he was ultimately assigned.
“At least I still got a six.”
There are many who can no longer say the same.
The players most likely to have lost height are players currently listed at 5-foot-11. That accounts for 74 players, who, since ABS measurements were introduced, have lost more than five combined total feet (61 inches). Compare that to the 72 players who are currently 6 feet. They dropped less than four feet (44 inches).
Average inches lost, by height
| Final height | Number of players | Average inches lost |
|---|---|---|
|
5-foot-6 |
3 |
0.33 |
|
5-foot-7 |
8 |
0.75 |
|
5-foot-8 |
14 |
0.71 |
|
5-foot-9 |
33 |
0.81 |
|
5-foot-10 |
56 |
0.64 |
|
5-foot-11 |
74 |
0.82 |
|
6 feet |
72 |
0.61 |
|
6-foot-1 |
55 |
0.27 |
|
6-foot-2 |
47 |
0.43 |
|
6-foot-3 |
35 |
0.43 |
|
6-foot-4 |
19 |
0.16 |
“That’s a tough day for those guys,” said Padres outfielder Gavin Sheets. Sheets himself went from 6-foot-5 to 6-foot-3, but is still firmly a card-carrying member of the 6-footer club.
Rays infielder Gavin Lux shrunk from 6-foot-2 to 5-foot-11, as did Dodgers infielder Alex Freeland. Tigers infielder Gleyber Torres dropped from 6-foot-1 to 5-foot-10, as did Red Sox catcher Connor Wong. Phillies infielder Bryson Stott, once 6-foot-3, can at least take solace in his 6-foot stature.
The same could not be said for Guardians catcher Bo Naylor, who was an even 6 feet before. Now, he’s only 5-foot-9, the same as the average American male. Welcome to the club, Bo.
Guardians teammates have enjoyed ribbing their backstop, with fellow catcher Austin Hedges joking, “Yeah, Bo is 5-foot-2, apparently.”
Naylor was at peace with it — and saw the silver lining.
“If it gets me a smaller zone, then I’m with it,” Naylor said. “It’s been funny seeing all the memes.”
Naylor makes an important point. Being shorter is now an advantage. The taller your listed height, the larger the ABS strike zone. Every player will have a zone tailored specifically to them, and Rojas said it will force him to learn his zone in a way he’s never thought of previously.
In the past, teams might use data from players’ physicals, or they might just repeat the previous year’s height. In some instances, the team might simply ask the player for their height. No longer.
The process of measuring players now includes a very strict pose — feet together, no shoes allowed, pants rolled up above the knees. If you have thick hair, they’ll make sure the measuring tool is pushed up firmly against your skull. There are lasers conducting a separate measurement, to compare to the hand measurement.
Players are later given their measurements in centimeters. Everyone is measured three times. All measurements must take place between 10 a.m. and noon, to standardize the process and avoid risks of growth or shrinkage later in the day, which is apparently a thing.
Perhaps it’s just covering up the embarrassment of exposure, but several players have said they’re happy to see a smaller number.
“It’s crazy how everybody across the league’s gone down,” Sheets said. “I think everybody’s all for it. I wish I shrunk more.”
The process of more stringent measurements actually began last year, since ABS was utilized in spring training, so the changes in players’ height has been a process that’s played out both last and this spring.
Surely not everyone’s dips are related to nefarious misrepresentations, as evidenced by the 47 players who gained height through this process, though only two went up more than one inch. The severe disparity, however, between players who lost height, compared to those that gained it, suggests that the changes, writ large, weren’t random.
“That’s a baseball card thing, also. It’s common knowledge, you add two or three inches to it,” said noted short king Steven Kwan. “I can’t really get away with that. I feel like when you’re five-ten and up, you can get away with that.”
Kwan is listed at 5-foot-8 now; he was previously listed at 5-foot-9. But his point is generally salient — the game’s shortest, and tallest, were the least likely to see any changes. Take José Altuve, for example, he’s never been anything but 5-foot-6. Likewise, Judge has known nothing but 6-foot-7.
Many other superstars, though, have seen shifts. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. dropped two inches, as did Bryce Harper, Jarren Duran, Austin Riley and George Springer. A plethora of others, such as Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Mike Trout, James Wood, lost one. The Big Dumper might not lose anything on his rear end, but the Mariners catcher did drop from 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-2.
One non-superstar, Wong, the Red Sox backup catcher, said his friends have been getting a kick out of his three-inch decline. Now at 5-foot-10, his initial 6-foot-1 listing was essentially a guess he’d made dating back nearly a decade.
“In college, I had a couple teammates that were shorter than me listed at 5-foot-10, which is what I was,” Wong said. “And I don’t know, I was just like, can I be listed at 6-foot-1 then? They said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ And then it never got changed.
“I didn’t know we were going to get exposed like that,” he added. “But people would see it before, my listed height, they’re like, ‘You’re not 6-1’ and I’m like, ‘I know.’ I’m not surprised.”
Red Sox catcher Connor Wong and pitcher Brayan Bello were both listed at 6-foot-1. (Elsa/Getty Images)
A week ago, on X, veteran third baseman Justin Turner posed a question to his followers. It’s one that he would go on to answer himself.
“Are all these height changes from official MLB measuring for ABS, or are guys trying to get away with shrinking the zone somehow, by claiming they are smaller,” said the 17-year vet, who has yet to sign with a team this year, and thus, not undergone the stringent measurements.
A fan responded by asking Turner if he believed that Lux, Turner’s ex-teammate, was his old listed 6-foot-2 height, or the 5-foot-11 his bio page currently suggests.
Turner, who has been listed at 5-foot-11 throughout his playing career, responded with a photo of the two, side by side, clearly of near identical stature.
“Leave me alone,” Lux replied, along with some laughing emojis.
Not exactly a denial by Lux, who appeared to not take the ribbing too seriously.
Ultimately, listing a taller height is an exercise in vanity. It doesn’t change anything other than the public’s perception.
And now, at least in this one specific way, that is no longer allowed, and no longer possible. There is nothing left to do but accept that the game of baseball just got a little bit shorter.
“I don’t care anymore,” Rojas said. “It’s kind of like your age. When you’re young, and you don’t want to keep getting older, you hope that you’re still 25. As of now, I don’t really care about how tall I am.”
With reports from The Athletic‘s Zack Meisel, Jen McCaffrey and Dennis Lin.
