Posted on 02/26/2026 3:54:02 AM PST by Adder
Mitch Trzeciak, an umpire who worked Triple-A in 2025, took up position behind home plate for a Grapefruit League matchup between the Pirates and Red Sox, and let’s say it could have gone better.
The troubles for Trzeciak began early. With one out in the first inning, Pittsburgh’s Carmen Mlodzinski threw what looked like a first-pitch strike to Boston’s Trevor Story. Trzeciak saw it differently and called it a ball. Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez challenged the call. The ABS review showed the pitch was clearly a strike.
That was also strike one against Trzeciak.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
At the very least, an automated umpire would be consistent.
“Hopefully, Trzeciak learns from the experience.”
What he learned is already there. When an umpire calls a pitch it is not determined by his definition of a strike zone. It is determined by what he saw. An infielder knows how to field a ground ball. But they kick them. An outfielder knows how to catch a fly ball, but they drop them. Same theory. The only difference is the official is placed in trying to be perfect, an unreachable goal. Somewhere along the line the sport had to draw from humans to fill the slots.
Combined between both teams the number of pitches averages out to roughly 145–150 pitches per team per game, with pitchers typically averaging around 15 pitches per inning. In a typical Major League Baseball (MLB) game, there are approximately 25 to 35 ground balls hit into the field of play per team (totaling 50–70+ per game). And they are shared in their action by six different players. Do people dwell on the errors they make? Those are forgotten, and they can make it up with another play. But the umpires calls are remembered for years in some cases.
I did an experiment many years ago when proved that point by telling a basketball player that the players will remember the call, but have very little recollection of the game. Another player came in and I asked him if he could remember a call I made he didn’t think was right. And without prompting him, he described a play from last year to a tee with everything in it’s appearance. Then I asked him if they won the game, did he have any ball control errors, how many points he or the team had...just a series of general questions about the game. And he couldn’t remember any of them, not even if they won. So that one play was etched on his mind and only the expectation of the officials.
Is there a chance that Trzeciak was sick that day, or the previous night, and wasn’t calling up to his capacity? Did the catcher block some of his calls, or use a reach and pull tactic with pitches that were outside the zone many times to steal a strike and that’s what he saw.
Putting in the artificial calling of the game is not going to improve it. It is just going to place blame on the officials giving players a chance to save face when they get punched out. And they are already protected with the stigma of being professional players. The expectations of the fans afford them their mistakes. And at the same time make the umpires the enemy rather than their trying to hit a slider.
wy69
He’s a recent graduate of the Angel Hernandez School of Umpiring.
Modern umpires are like modern judges. Too easily influenced, and don’t adhere strictly to the guidelines in place.
I’m in favor of an electronic strike zone. To heck with the black clothed/robed tyrants.
I agree with you - but - I also think the Political Left violates the spirit and letter of the law 10X times more often than the Political Right does.
My Bottom Line...
350 million hugely diverse people cannot be peacefully governed as one nation.
A close friend umpires girls’ high school fast pitch softball. Due to the shortage of such umpires here in Michigan, last year they raised the per game pay to $100 per umpire, which usually consists of two per game.
The umpire should see the same screen we do and then give the call made by the camera.
I play senior softball with a guy who is great pitcher. Unfortunately, every game his team looses, it's always his player's fault, ever pitch called a ball by the umpire is always a bad call, every call of safe on the base paths is always a bad call by the umpire.
Every game lost is always the umpire's fault.
He's a whining, pain in the ass. LOL!
Everyone here in Detroit, and likely around the country, remembers that call.
Had it not been for that bad call, nobody would ever remember Galarraga's throwing that no-hitter.....
If you watch the video, some were close and others were not. The one that was a half an inch outside the strike zone was a wrong call but not necessarily a bad call. Seems like a reasonable use of technology.
Pitchers put the ball through an electronic box. Have strikes ping the umpire’s bluetooth earpiece. STEEERIKE! That umpire will be in place to make base running calls just like the other three.
Yes but juries should still be able to decide. Just because someone technically broke a law does not mean there is intent or that the law actually makes sense. If we give the courts that power we are all screwed because everyone commits multiple crimes every day. There is a famous book called Three Felonies a Day that should scare anyone about this idea.
Oh, Lord, pull-eeze. To err is human, to really foul things up requires a computer.
AI could take a lot of guesswork out of umping. The speeds and tensions involved make that job a challenge for any human. As long as no one monkeys with calibration from start to end of game, the objectivity would be much better. Plus, no salary or pensions for umps, no danger from a bouncing harball to groin or goiter.
The ABS system does not use AI. It uses a set of parameters directly programed into it. AI implies it would learn as it goes along. The ABS system thankfully does not do that.
AI should not be used for baseball or legal proceedings. Or much else for that metter.
That is a very solid point.
I do think that jury nullification is good concept and there have been news items where I have said “Put me on the jury” — meaning I wouldn’t support any legal penalty at all for the alleged action by the defendant.
So, yes, my concept that AI might be a good idea actually suffers a lot when I think about no possible leniency through nullification.
Thanks for clarifying.
lol! What is that Major League?
Naked Gun
Well, if AI is calling balls and strikes, why not have AI do the pitching as well have it program a pitching machine for perfect pitching every time. choosing fast ball, curve, outside, inside, change-up and the like. Then we can have AI fielders and and and....
#1. it’s only a game! #2 if your not using it as only a game you need to examine your motives. #3. Humans NEED to play games, it’s essential for their wellbeing.
Don’t try to put machines into playtime. It’s people vs people having a good time competing and ALL HUMANS make mistakes it’s part of the game. (that includes the umpires) That’s my two cents, worth what you paid for it.
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.