Posted on 12/22/2019 4:47:19 AM PST by Libloather
The electronic strike zone, also commonly refereed to as "robot umpires," could make its way to Major League Baseball at some point during the next five seasons. The Major League Baseball Umpires Association agreed to cooperate with Major League Baseball in the development and testing of the electronic strike zone, Associated Press' Ben Walker and Ronald Blum report.
**SNIP**
Last month, Manfred said the automated strike zone will be used in some minor league ballparks during the 2020 season as MiLB works to improve the technology. Here's the short version of how the technology works: The home plate umpire will wear an ear piece during the game, and they will hear a "ball" or "strike" call on each pitch. The pitch is identified using a Doppler radar system, called TrackMan. The umpire will hear and relay the call. For an in-depth look at the technology, including thoughts from players and personnel, you can read more about the initial experiment with the Atlantic League here.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbssports.com ...
Ha Ha Ha! Never happen because robots don’t pay union fees.
As long as it slows down the game some more, I’ll be fine with it.
Legalized sports betting may be the end of a human behind the plate.
Interesting. I assume the strike zone is roughly cube-shaped. Does the ball have to be completey within the zone, or may part of the ball extend beyond? If so, then how much?
i CAN SEE A SIMPLE REVIEW oops sorry bout’ the caps. I can see a challenge sort of system...but why even watch humans play when we could just let “technology” take the stats and muster up 3D holograms and do it all? Why even allow HUMANS at all ...save the planet man! Too much Co2 being emitted with all these mouth breathing ,meat eating and then defacateing humans gathering in a ball park enjoying themselves....just put sensors everywhere and leave it at that....
Hi Libloather -
I heard about this being proposed while watching an MLB game this last season. Personally, I don’t like, and have never liked, replays in sports. If it is so important to be accurate, then perhaps the players can just put their probable stats into a computer and then “play” the game. As a D1 basketball coach once said in a clinic when asked why his teams always seemed to play better against highly favored teams, “You just don’t put the jerseys at center court before the game, and take a vote.” He meant that unexpected human performance surpasses all computer algorithms and precise accuracy (from officials and players)that can be changed for periods of time. If MLB goes there, it will be nothing more than a video game with real people. Human fallibility and human excellence is why sports are such an inspiration to many of us. They show us we can excel too.
Gwjack
Only if we get robot managers who are allowed to argue the logarithms, etc.
They ought to be able to use the technology they use in tracking football players on the field - or pallets through the supply chain.
If it’s more accurate to hell with the umpires.
No one mentions that a big cut in pay should accompany it. Replays on close calls. Maybe we don’t need umpires. Ever think of that. A player can’t argue anymore. I miss Billy Martin.
It’s where the ball crosses the plate. So the strike zone is a rectangle.
The interesting part is how does the robo-ump adjust to the height of the hitter and the batting stance?
The manager can always storm out onto the field and kick the plug out!
It’s where the ball crosses the plate. So the strike zone is a rectangle.
Not true! The strike zone is three dimensional. It includes the depth of home plate, as well as the width of home plate.
https://tht.fangraphs.com/analyzing-the-strike-zone-as-a-three-dimensional-volume/
As called by human umpires it’s 2-dimensional. We have all seen the graphic where the catcher sets up on the edge of the strike zone and a breaking pitch, by the time it hits the glove, is clearly off the plate. But on ocassion they will show an overhead shot and the pitch clips the front edge of the plate.
Umps are like hitters, too. They can only really track the pitch to a point just ahead of the plate. After that it’s an educated guess.
Baseball went off the tracks in the 1960s. Today I would rather watch teams of robots beating each other with baseball bats and throwing flaming balls to knock off runners.
So the zone is a plane? I would think, since the plate is static, the strike zone is as well, so it is up to the batter to adjust as needed, not the bot.
The strike zone is 3-dimensional. You can argue that it is not, but you would lose the argument.
As opposed to NFL/NCAA football. Sprint, stop, sprint, time out, sprint, stop, sprint, commercial break, etc etc
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.