Robo umps coming to AAA for the 2022 season

[Jason]

19 hours ago, Stradling said:

 

It’s going to weird for any baseball player that has played the game most of their life. They have to start somewhere 

[Jeff Fletcher]

45 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

@Jeff Fletcher this is a dumb question, but I had to ask.

For players who ended the season on the DL, should the MLB season be delayed would it be possible to have Trout, Rendon, Sandoval etc. rehab in AAA until a deal is reached?

No. Anyone on the 40-man is locked out and all the injured guys had to go back on the 40-man in November. 

[Dtwncbad]

I hope Elon Musk is working on an electric or solar version.

[greginpsca]

I  cant wait until we see a manager or players arguing with a robot.

[ukyah]

i don't understand how people can consider officiating mistakes as part of the rich tapestry of the game. 

[Dtwncbad]

They will also introduce a robot “manager”exclusively to handle any remaining disagreements with the robot umpires.

[tdawg87]

50 minutes ago, greginpsca said:

I  cant wait until we see a manager or players arguing with a robot.

Maddon would be the first one to do it.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

2 hours ago, WicketMaiden said:

I really hate the idea. Mistakes and errors and personal preferences are all part of the rich tapestry of life, and bad umpires are a thread of the rich tapestry of sports. Sure it can be annoying when it doesn't go your way, but it's really bloody nice when it does. Just like life. It's just another flavour of loss or victory.

I like the challenge that adjusting to a particular umpire's strike zone presents to the pitchers, it requires another layer of expertise and rewards success to those that can exploit the adjustment. Sure, do a better job of holding umpires accountable and do a better job of training and supporting them to finesse their skills, but the game is richer for their natural human variety, whereas a robot strike zone just seems like another shade of grey.

I totally agree. This is an experiment that I hope goes away.

[beatlesrule]

[Stradling]

2 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

Maddon would be the first one to do it.

Hatcher would give the robot a hot foot, so at least we upgraded from that. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

What is it that people seem to like about bad calls?

[Lou]

10 minutes ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

What is it that people seem to like about bad calls?

The childish outrage on message boards.

[AngelsLakersFan]

5 minutes ago, Lou said:

The childish outrage on message boards.

I suppose that is a legit reason

[tdawg87]

20 minutes ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

What is it that people seem to like about bad calls?

It's part of the game or some shit

[Blarg]

4 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

That's what I'm talking about. 

Sorry, dude, but you are part of the Tennessee leagues now. Lots of minor league teams but no Angels. 

[Blarg]

Good news, Chuck, you can catch the Trash Pandas playing the Tennessee Smokies and Chattanooga Lookouts. 

[Dtwncbad]

3 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

What is it that people seem to like about bad calls?

I don’t think anybody “likes” truly bad calls.

But two things:

1). For decades we have been conditioned to accept that over 162 games “close enough” either way calls are just part of the game.

2). There is at least an argument that different umpires may have different strike zones, and that slight variety is really a nuance that good pitchers and hitters adjust to (not really in the category of being bad calls).

I am fine with the human element other than actually bad calls.

I don’t mind accepting some of the variation that comes with human umpires.

 

[Second Base]

I watched a couple games with the "robo ump" system. It was exceptional going east to west, catching corners with precision. But North and South were rough. High fastballs bring called a strike, breaking balls in the dirt somehow catching the zone. 

MLB pitchers have too good of breaking balls for this to not suppress runs. 

I like it, but I also acknowledge it's going to be a HUGE adjustment and give pitchers a big advantage.

[Stradling]

If they got rid of the “k-zone” then we’d complain a lot less about ball and strike calls. The Ballys k-zone isn’t mlb’s official strike zone. It’s a guy like Blarg throwing a box on the tv so we can all argue. It’s the Blarg-Zone.  

[Docwaukee]

It's not just the bad calls, it's the inconsistency.  You don't really see a team bitch when the ball a couple inches off the plate is called that way all game.  It's when a pitch is called a strike one time and the next time it's not.  Then it is again.  

[tdawg87]

22 hours ago, Stradling said:

It’s the Blarg-Zone.  

Gross.

[Puget Sound Angel]

Anything to speed up the game.

[bruin5]

On 1/21/2022 at 1:39 PM, WicketMaiden said:

I really hate the idea. Mistakes and errors and personal preferences are all part of the rich tapestry of life, and bad umpires are a thread of the rich tapestry of sports. Sure it can be annoying when it doesn't go your way, but it's really bloody nice when it does. Just like life. It's just another flavour of loss or victory.

I like the challenge that adjusting to a particular umpire's strike zone presents to the pitchers, it requires another layer of expertise and rewards success to those that can exploit the adjustment. Sure, do a better job of holding umpires accountable and do a better job of training and supporting them to finesse their skills, but the game is richer for their natural human variety, whereas a robot strike zone just seems like another shade of grey.

In general, all sports have made substantial moves to take judgment out of the picture.  All leagues have replay rules (including MLB) and while they delay the action, it’s good to have calls be made right.  

There is supposed to be a consistent strike zone rule but umpires who deviate from that (especially within games) can change the outcome of the game - and that is something no umpire should ever be able to do.  

At least with the robot umpire pitchers and hitters succeed or fail based on their own judgment and abilities, and not the umpires.  

[WicketMaiden]

3 hours ago, bruin5 said:

In general, all sports have made substantial moves to take judgment out of the picture.  All leagues have replay rules (including MLB) and while they delay the action, it’s good to have calls be made right.  

There is supposed to be a consistent strike zone rule but umpires who deviate from that (especially within games) can change the outcome of the game - and that is something no umpire should ever be able to do.  

At least with the robot umpire pitchers and hitters succeed or fail based on their own judgment and abilities, and not the umpires.  

All good points Bruin, but I still dislike the idea. I think most of the inconsistencies could be ironed out with better umpires and a more thorough and robust review of the umpires' work, including consequences for poor performance and a mechanism to hold officials as openly accountable as the players and managers. I enjoy the nuance that each competent umpire brings to the game. Pay them more to attract better people, train them better, support and review them with technological support, hold them to account for poor performance - it works in pretty much every other industry.

As an aside, and I'm only half joking here, but seeing as anything that can be programmed can also be hacked, how long until the Astros hack the system and start trashcanning the robo-ump?

[bruin5]

24 minutes ago, WicketMaiden said:

All good points Bruin, but I still dislike the idea. I think most of the inconsistencies could be ironed out with better umpires and a more thorough and robust review of the umpires' work, including consequences for poor performance and a mechanism to hold officials as openly accountable as the players and managers. I enjoy the nuance that each competent umpire brings to the game. Pay them more to attract better people, train them better, support and review them with technological support, hold them to account for poor performance - it works in pretty much every other industry.

As an aside, and I'm only half joking here, but seeing as anything that can be programmed can also be hacked, how long until the Astros hack the system and start trashcanning the robo-ump?

I have a certain ambivalence as well.  The issue with umpires is that there is no accountability for poor performance (I’m looking at you Angel Hernandez).  This is mostly because of their union. For as long as I can remember, some umpires have become bigger than the game and that doesn’t help the game. 

Edited January 28, 2022 by bruin5