Robot Homeplate Umps ???

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Ugghhh

MLB 2.0: Reimagining baseball -- It's time for robot umpires behind home plate


As much as I disagree the with the HP umps on many of their ball/strike calls.....I truly hope this "tech" doesn't replace them anytime soon.

 

[powerchord86]

This idea is ridiculous. We already have more review of plays coming all the time and even that was hard to get used to. If robot umpires are used it takes away such a big human element of baseball. Total blasphemy I say. If everything is perfect and everyone agrees on everything all the time in baseball, what fun is that??

 

[calsnowskier]

I am 100% in favor of using some sort of automation in ball-strike calls. I have seen too many umpires get power-hungry **couch**cough**joewest**cough**cough**angelhernandez**cough**cough**ericgregg**cough**cough** and make absolutely unbelievable calls. If the technology is there, utilize it.

 

[chappee11]

Ugghhh

MLB 2.0: Reimagining baseball -- It's time for robot umpires behind home plate


As much as I disagree the with the HP umps on many of their ball/strike calls.....I truly hope this "tech" doesn't replace them anytime soon.

This NEEDS to happen. We shouldn't have the influence of an ump who has a "wide"'strike zone or a "high" strike zone etc.... Similarly, we shouldn't have so much emphasis on catchers "framing" pitches. A uniform strike zone would make the game so much more enjoyable. No more arguing. No more ejections. Human beings suck at calling balls and strikes. It was the only option in 1924, but we've come a long way since then.

 

[Mondo Jay]

I like the human element.

 

[obxyankeefan]

Anybody remember the Jetsons football episode from when we were kids.


Duck robot umpires

 

[obxyankeefan]

And duck spellchecker

 

[DragonfromTO]

I like the human element.

All of the game play would still be human though.

 

[Red_Chaos]

what happens when it breaks down?

 

[mcnabb7542]

It will never happen the umpires union will drag MLB into court for years

 

[4down20]

Isn't saying "I like the human element" just a way of saying "I like bad calls"?

I'm a fan of any technologies that take the "human element" out of officiating. The only "human element" I want to see is in the players.

 

[4down20]

what happens when it breaks down?

At worse treat the game as a rainout.

But it's not going to happen with any frequency.

 

[chappee11]

Anybody remember the Jetsons football episode from when we were kids.


Duck robot umpires

Oh yeah? Well "Duck" human umpires! They suck at calling balls and strikes. We have the technology to get it right. Let's do it.

 

[chappee11]

It will never happen the umpires union will drag MLB into court for years

Why? It won't cost them any jobs. You still need an umpire at home plate.

 

[chappee11]

what happens when it breaks down?

Like all those times instant replay breaks down?

 

[calsnowskier]

what happens when it breaks down?

The umps will still be there. They will still make the actual calls. They will simply be informed (via a buzzer or glasses or something) by the computer of the call.

If the system goes down, both teams are informed and the umpire makes the calls au-natural.

I don't think anyone is saying this us ready to implimented at the MLB level in 2016. I would assume it would be tested in minor league games for a year or two, then it would be used in the majors just as an instant grading device (after the ump makes the call, the buzzer (or whatever) would let the ump know the correct call).

If the league decided today that they were going down this path, I would not expect actual calls to be automated until 2020 at the earliest.

 

[powerchord86]

Might as well have robot baseball players too. No injuries!

 

[podsox]

No thanks but it's time for umpires to call the strike zone instead of having their own view of it. Sick of hearing all you can ask is for them to be consistent.

 

[Win TWINS!!!]

 

[broncosmitty]

Get rid of replay.