If by "new zone" do you mean in the last 80 years? But it has been used by managers as far back as John McGraw's days. The idea has always been to make a pitcher have to throw strikes with as many of his pitches as possible. Maybe it's a new term but the idea of not having players with the same hitting zone in back to back positions has been around forever.
The only problem I've ever had with this theory is that it gives WAY too much credit to the moron umpires.
