Robot Umpires: a legitimate proposition?

by Taylor H on Oct 14, 2009 10:02 PM EDT Comment 18 comments

I'm mainly hoping for a response from RJ, but the rest of you should feel free to respond with your thoughts.

How would you feel if umpires were completely and totally removed from the game of baseball? Would this be a good thing or a bad thing overall? I wrote something about it a while ago on the subject (http://sodomojo.com/2009/09/24/the-plusses-and-minuses-of-robot-umpires/), but I remain curious about the prospect of RoboUmps.

Discuss.

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Robot strikecallers.

We have the technology, it doesn’t take away from the game, and you can still employ humans for safe/out calls.

by R.J. Anderson on Oct 14, 2009 10:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The umpire's union is the strongest in this great nation of ours

Good luck with all this.

Get well soon DM

by Sandy Kazmir on Oct 14, 2009 11:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My teacher girlfriend begs to differ

Of course it’s not going to happen anytime soon, and slight deviations in strike zones are part of the game, but it can get out of control especially with left handed batters.

the ghost of stokes, camp, lugo strikes TB-sept 2009

by CubFanRaysaddict on Oct 15, 2009 12:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Uh, no.

They haven’t even fully recovered from their great plan to all quit at once in 2000. They’re not all that strong, it’s just that MLB has no beef with the WUA.

I can't wait until we trade him for a reliever.

by kericr on Oct 15, 2009 9:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The umpires are doing a good enough job of working towards robot strikecallers.

by R.J. Anderson on Oct 15, 2009 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would vote no.

let’s not turn it into a vido game

by gjsor on Oct 14, 2009 11:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah. I agree. I really wouldn't like it if the correct call was made on every pitch.

We’d never see another Tom Glavine or Steve Avery if they actually called the strike-zone by the rule book and that would be disappointing.

Tools Whore

by Tyler on Oct 15, 2009 8:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Players should be the ones that determine the outcome of the game, not umpires.

That said, I vote for robot strikezones and a set number of replay challenges triggered by managers.

by BrianL on Oct 15, 2009 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes because clearly Taylor also wishes to replace the people who actually play the game with robots

by Graham on Oct 15, 2009 11:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

clearly

Get well soon DM

by Sandy Kazmir on Oct 15, 2009 11:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for reminding me, Graham.

I’m also proposing that we replace the fans with robots as well. That way misbehaviour can be kept to a minimum.

I work here: http://tinyurl.com/yfxlyhh

by Taylor H on Oct 15, 2009 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not necessarily

Hasbro has been working on something they call the TardBot. I think you could easily put that in the stands at Fenway and no one would know the difference.

Get well soon DM

by Sandy Kazmir on Oct 15, 2009 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

what would we have to bitch about?

Can you image how annoying it would be? Your pitcher is throwing a perfect game and your pitcher has a three-two count and it’s call just off the corner. And your pitcher loses the perfect game and few pitches later loses the shut out. How annoying will it be? Taken from a guy who is still smoldering over a shitty strike zone from the 2008 World Series, I think robot umps would be a mistake. The game is imperfect. The game is about hitting a sown-together ball with a widdled down wooden bat and then the runner has to occupy the base until he scores. It’s not perfect, it will never be perfect. Keep the umpires just make sure that your team pays the ump more then the other guy.

In the name of Shinji Mori, we shall win!

by thebaddancingraysfan on Oct 14, 2009 11:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

There's times when this works, and times when it doesn't.

I sort of agree with you; I mean, the human element of umpiring had a small hand in Mark Beherle’s perfect game against the Rays this year. But in that situation, it was done right, giving him calls that were just close enough, and not giving him anything he wouldn’t give the other pitcher. That makes sense.

But the 2008 world series is the clearest illustration of how it shouldn’t be done, specifically Kazmir’s game against Jamie Moyer; where Moyer pretty much got anything he threw as a strike while Kaz got shoeboxed.

If the umpires were to be held publicly accountable for grievous mistakes such as that one, then I would say no, let the men do their job. But since that’s not going to happen, since ump crews use the buddy system, I think that pitchFX should be used to replace ball/strike calls from umpires and eliminate the inconsistency from ump to ump in the equation.

I can't wait until we trade him for a reliever.

by kericr on Oct 15, 2009 9:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Perhaps they already do this, but there should be a point system in place that rewards the guys that get the fewest

calls wrong. It could be scaled such that balls and strikes are .1 apiece while, mistakes in the field could be 1 whole point. The numbers aren’t set, but whoever has the lowest scores gets to make more money in the playoffs. Clearly, they are going by a system of seniority, which is generally a bad way to do things. The playoffs will get the best umps, and over time, the game should get cleaned up as guys jockey for those extra post-season dollars.

Get well soon DM

by Sandy Kazmir on Oct 15, 2009 9:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You know to add on to what you are saying

I think it would be a great idea to have a PUBLIC point system. Imagine it: during the pregame when the umps are being announced their points are displayed by their name. The points would be shown the same way that a pitchers ERA is shown or a batter’s average. Have the points printed in the newspaper so we, the fans, can prepare for the umps the same way we prepare for the other team.

In the name of Shinji Mori, we shall win!

by thebaddancingraysfan on Oct 15, 2009 11:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hardcore bettors already use a system like this when picking games

It is out there, but you have to pay good money for the data, so I’m sure they wouldn’t start printing it publicly. On the other hand I wouldn’t mind having a Dana DeMuth or Phil Cuzzi card. Maybe Cowboy Joe West could be strumming a guitar.

Get well soon DM

by Sandy Kazmir on Oct 15, 2009 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs