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 thats connected to a wired earbud in the umpires 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.
Its 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 ...
The Billy Hamilton rule.
The card game is already available.
I met him in 69 at al somers umpire school in daytona beach. along with dick stello and harry wendlestedt and randy marsh.
When i worked 1969 I was told to call strikes 2 inches outside by the guy from the umpire development program and nothing above the waist. That was minor league Midwest and Florida State.
In reality by the time someone make gets to the biogs, they have formed their strike zone. Pitchers cut and move the ball in various ways. Batters are different heights, even the length of the shins to the knees.
To say that all umpires will call every pitch the same way is impossible. Theyre human. Thats why the pitcher or batters will say, hes a low-ball ump or whatever. they accept differences between umps, but want a particular ump to be consistent in the same game.
Robots will replace at least half the umps and we will miss the fights, but replays already are doing that.
When do robots start playing?. Robot players and umps should make for an eventful game. What about robot fans?
when humans makes mistake on balls and strikes no one or thing is allowed to correct it.
Players like consistency. They learn what the umpires do from ump to ump. With robots they dont have to adjust from game to game, more consistency. Youll never get consistency from one ump to another on balls and strikes.,
In the future two humans on the field non-players an ump to check on the robots and a maintenance person to keep them operating.
BS
Needed, overdue, inevitable. Balls-and-strikes calling has improved tremendously since the advent of computerized tracking, but center-field cameras show clearly how much still is needed.
I already let others watch for me.
Exactly, think of the paid branding. The official parts store of MLB.
Freegards
If 100% every pitch that touches the zone by a hair is called a strike, I think hitters will have problems for a while until they make the adjustment. Same with high strikes that aren’t called now. The zone is going to get bigger, but as you say it will be the same zone every day from then on.
Freegards
They could also advertise Cincinnati Microwave.
If they’re still around and they still make radar guns (and radar detectors).
Talk about selling both sides of the market.....
They’re probably long gone.
If it touches the strike zone, it’s a strike. The ball IIRC is 2.9 inches in diameter The plate is 17 inches wide in the front part so the strike zone is technically 22.8 inches wide which includes the ball. 2 X 2.8 plus 17.
The same concept applies vertically. If the top of the knee is a strike, the ball can be 2.8 inches below the topi of the knee and the top .1 of the ball at the top of the knee and that’s a strike.
Arent there eight line judges in tennis? Does the machine need a minder?
Freegards
Hey it’s Enrico Pallazzo!
Best line of the movie.
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