Posted on 07/30/2019 5:11:46 PM PDT by Jacquerie
In addition to letting players steal first base, the Atlantic League — which serves as a testing ground for Major League Baseball — has employed a number of different changes this season which could eventually be adopted by MLB.
One of them? Robotic umpires calling balls and strikes.
In every stadium of the eight-team Atlantic League, there is now a TrackMan device above home plate which uses 3-D Doppler radar to register balls and strikes. Once the radar decides whether a pitch is in or out of the strike zone, the device relays its decision via wifi to an iPhone that’s connected to a wired earbud in the umpire’s ear. As of now at least, a human is still the one signaling “ball” or “strike.”
After working the plate during a recent game between the Long Island Ducks and Somerset Patriots, umpire J.B. Torres said he agreed with all but six of the calls which were made on the 259 pitches that were thrown.
Following the game, Ducks manager Wally Backman predicted that MLB will adopt the system within five years, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“It’s going to happen,” he said. “There have been a few pitches that are questionable, but not as many as if it was a human. The machine is definitely going to be more right than they are.”
(Excerpt) Read more at insidehook.com ...
I think if they call it by the rulebook electronically it there will be a lot of 13 inning 1-0 games played in two hours. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but they haven’t called the rulebook strike zone for decades. Top of the zone has been cut off. If it actually is a rule book zone, it’s going to take a while for them to adjust.
Freegards
Tennis has the Hawk-Eye system to do away with 7 people making line calls in pro play. It can’t happen soon enough.
https://www.topendsports.com/sport/tennis/hawkeye.htm
As long as the beer and hotdogs are real,it’ll be ok.
Heh, yep.
Turn off the umpire!!!;)
Probably a more monumental rule than RoboUmp is the ability to steal first base. This rule states that the batter may elect to run to first base when the catcher does not catch the ball at any point in the count (other than Ball 4 or Strike 3). The catcher may either tag the runner or throw to first base to attempt to beat the runner to the bag if he recovers the ball soon enough.
The official scorecard indicates no official plate appearance (similar to walk, hit by pitch, or error), plus a stolen base (or attempt if he failed).
The team with the best hackers could certainly get an edge. :)
Let’s see...how could libs finally destroy American culture? Take the fun, the unexpected, the peanuts, the home town, the patriotism, the nonpolitical announcers, the bloopers and the humanity out of baseball...
I’m thinking’........Bender.
Problem is there is no real penalty system in baseball. You have interference and obstruction but that is about it. Every other infraction is basically a warning or an ejection.
I guess we can always argue the games are hacked.
$14 for a small cup of watered down swill is not “OK”.
What will the umpires do about it? Go on strike?
Question is, if he attempts to steal with a runner on first can the defense score a double play or can the 1B runner elect not to run?
I always though the strike zone was the top of the knees to the armpit. Now it is top of the knees to mid chest.
Players are expected to hang up their spikes when they can no longer perform. Umpires? Not so much.
MLB thinks they have a better product without this?
I don’t think so. Screw robot umps and instant replay.
I want an auto-zone, I just want it called like the rulebook says. That means a bigger zone than what is called now, at least as far as I can figure. It also means that the zone’s height should be dependent on the batter’s height and stance. Some players still deign to get lower and spread out deep in a count, that should be reflected in an auto-zone.
Freegards
Why not just play a video game?
Imagine the hacking opportunities.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.