For crying out loud, can MLB please implement an electronic strike zone already?

[Moose Milligan]

2 hours ago, NCRaven said:

If they fired Laz Diaz, CB Buckner, and Angel Hernandez, umpiring, overall, would improve dramatically.  This is especially true with Joe West retiring.  Obviously, MLB will not fire any of those three umpires.

I'm not sure what an umpire has to do to get fired.  Seems like a job you can keep for life until retirement no matter how bad you are.  

Also, it doesn't seem that there are any penalties for being bad at your job when it comes to being an umpire.  

[joelala]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CXEbFnjMyrn/?utm_medium=share_sheet

[Oriole1940]

In baseball more than some sports, 1 bad call can decide the outcome of the game.  It is still a game of inches.

[SteveA]

On 10/22/2021 at 10:12 AM, Frobby said:

@Can_of_corn posted this article in another forum, but this article on the experience in the Atlantic League and certain minor leagues should be read by anyone advocating for an electronic strike zone.   It’s not as simple a situation as you think.   https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2021/10/21/22736400/experimental-rules-atlantic-league-robo-umps

One take from reading this article is that MLB is at least trying to apply some logical thought here in ALL of these various changes they are looking at.

Most of our exposure to these ideas has come from Manfred, who has been kind of a spokesman for these changes.   Not only is he unlikable, but when he talks you get the sense that he really doesn't even understand the game that well.

But reading this article, you get the feeling that the people implementing this stuff do understand and care about the game, and these aren't just Manfred ideas being flung up against a wall to see what will stick.   People like Epstein and Ibanez who know and care about the game and are trying to make good decisions.

So I feel better about that. 

And a bonus point for a Lenn Sakata mention.

[KojiSplit]

Chad Whitson was absolutely atrocious yesterday. Moreno caught one “strike” about a foot below where he had intended, somewhat getting crossed up and Whitson still raised the arm. (Think this particular at bat was against Cowser.) Me and my friend were at the game and were in complete disbelief.

He was calling them low away against Mountcastle, way inside against Mateo and Mullins who is already slumping bad enough had a pitch way high and out the zone called a strike on 0-1 when he was initially attempting a sac bunt.

This guy was Ron Kulpa, Laz Diaz level bad, sadly I’ll now be remembering his name when in reality he shouldn’t even be working in A ball.

Looking at some of his other scorecards he looks to be as bad as the worst of them.

Long overdue for the electronic strike zone, enough is enough and seems to keep getting worse every season.

https://x.com/umpstrikezone/status/1789435566137675892

[Aristotelian]

It was really bad. I will say it was consistently big and he gave Means a bunch of extra strikes too. I would prefer robo but consistently bad human is preferable to inconsistent or biased human.

[Bahama O's Fan]

I have no idea why we haven't done this yet. We have the technology to remove human error. We have the ability to be above reproach in this modern gambling age. Let's get it done. The minor leagues already use it and as we heard, it has affected players coming from the minors to the majors (why we have different procedures in the minors vs the majors is beyond me, like when they used different balls). I can't see what the argument would be for the other side. 

[George Zuverink]

1 hour ago, Bahama O's Fan said:

I have no idea why we haven't done this yet. We have the technology to remove human error. We have the ability to be above reproach in this modern gambling age. Let's get it done. The minor leagues already use it and as we heard, it has affected players coming from the minors to the majors (why we have different procedures in the minors vs the majors is beyond me, like when they used different balls). I can't see what the argument would be for the other side. 

Saw a Norfolk game on MLB. com for the first time this week and had a brief moment of disorientation when a batter challenged a call.  The batter was right two out of three times.  There was no discernible delay in the ruling. I liked it.   Can’t see any reason the owners and players wouldn’t want it. Umpire union opposition? Data gathering obsession?

[Morgan423]

3 hours ago, KojiSplit said:

Chad Whitson was absolutely atrocious yesterday. Moreno caught one “strike” about a foot below where he had intended, somewhat getting crossed up and Whitson still raised the arm. (Think this particular at bat was against Cowser.) Me and my friend were at the game and were in complete disbelief.

He was calling them low away against Mountcastle, way inside against Mateo and Mullins who is already slumping bad enough had a pitch way high and out the zone called a strike on 0-1 when he was initially attempting a sac bunt.

This guy was Ron Kulpa, Laz Diaz level bad, sadly I’ll now be remembering his name when in reality he shouldn’t even be working in A ball.

Looking at some of his other scorecards he looks to be as bad as the worst of them.

Long overdue for the electronic strike zone, enough is enough and seems to keep getting worse every season.

https://x.com/umpstrikezone/status/1789435566137675892

Weirdly, Ump Scorecards had this one as being flat on favoritism, even though they got quite a few more calls in their favor, and ours generally felt more impactful, putting our hitters in pitcher's counts in several important at bats.  

[Natty]

It sure makes the home plate umpire look bad when he blows call after call with millions of fans watching.

 

[Orioles West]

So nice to see a Weams’ thread still being referenced! 

That said, I am not quite ready for robo-umps. I just think they need to hand out some infractions to the current human umpires who are inconsistent. I somehow doubt the union will allow more suspensions until the strike zone calls get better, but I’m not quite ready to hand baseball calls over to AI.

[Frobby]

Gotta hand it to him, he called balls strikes in all four quadrants.  

[Uli2001]

5 hours ago, Frobby said:

Gotta hand it to him, he called balls strikes in all four quadrants.  

This graph should be the logo of the "bring electronic balls-and-strikes" movement. How can this be considered a strike zone?

[brooks1083]

I don’t understand the logic for the ABS challenge system. If you can instantly know what the pitch was, pipe it into the home plate umpires ear like they did in the Atlantic League (or wherever they tested it). Why do we need to fool around with a challenge system? I’m perfectly fine waiting an extra second to get the call if it’s going to always be right.