It was a busy filing day around baseball, with multiple arbitration records topped and 20 unresolved cases headed towards hearings if deals aren’t brokered in the coming days. Two notable record highs carried the day for players, noted MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Cody Bellinger took home the highest-ever salary for a first-time arb-eligible player, while Mookie Betts’ one-year, $27MM deal eclipsed Nolan Arenado’s previous record figure for a single season salary under the arbitration umbrella. Some significant battles loom, however…
- George Springer will join the list of the top ten richest one-year contracts no matter how his case is resolved. J.T. Realmuto, meanwhile, has elevated his case to the level of political statement as he tries to set a new market for all catchers, per @fntsyradio host Craigh Mish. Yasmani Grandal made a similar case last year in justifying his decision to accept a single season deal in Milwaukee over a multiyear offer from the Mets. Hard to know if Grandal moved the line for everyone, but it certainly paid off for him.
- It’s time to cede the battle against robot umpires, per The Athletic’s Jayson Stark. “This. Is. Happening,” writes Stark, and perhaps as early as 2022. The mental games used to inch the strike zone this way or that has long been a tool of the game’s best – from the hitters whose impeccable eye define it, to the pitchers’ whose pinpoint control push to expand it – but an automated zone will all but abolish the in-game politicking of the strike zone, giving hitters a new advantage they have long been without: certainty. Robot umpires will define the strike zone with better precision than their carbon-based forerunners – but first the humans must decide what they want that strike zone to be. For those particularly fond of strike zone drama, appreciate it now, because deciding on the parameters of the automated zone might be one of the last great strike zone debates before the robots take over.
- The Royals announced a number of changes to their baseball ops department on Friday, mostly in the form of new hires and promotions (Nick Kappel of Royal Rundown provides the full list). Notables include Rustin Sveum, son of Dale, promoted to minor league video coordinator, former Tampa Bay Ray Damon Hollins returned for an 11th season in Kansas City as the Coordinator of Outfield, Base Running, and Bunting, and the famously high-stockinged Jason Simontacchi named Pitching Coordinator after two years assisting the role.
Springer? Am I missing something?
Springer? I hardly know ‘er!
Is baseball really going to use robot umps before the NL even gets the DH? I’ve been a baseball fan my whole life, before I could walk, and I’m starting to lose interest in the direction the sport is going. If the whole point is to take away certain advantages of the sport, then why the hell cant we start by making the rules of both leagues equal. The AL has had the advantage since 1973! Get Manfred outta there before he ruins baseball. He’s changing the rules every year!
You are right, it would be great if they eliminated the DH in the AL with their fake baseball, lol.
“their fake baseball”? You think only the AL had a juiced ball? You nuts?
It would be great if the NL stopped being the last pro league on the planet that keeps forcing non-professional hitters to hit professional pitchers.
I respectfully disagree.
Having a pitcher take his cuts adds another dimension of intrigue to the game. The opposing pitcher is generally regarded as the weakest hitter in the lineup (an assessment that is usually true). So pitchers either try to blow them away on strikes or give them something in the strike zone so they can hit a weak grounder or pop fly and get themselves out.
This strategy usually works, but sometimes the pitcher gets a hit and contributes to his own cause. And major league pitchers aren’t “non professional” hitters. They’ve been playing baseball their entire lives, just like everyone else on the field.
How is a MLB pitcher a non professional?
About 95% of pitchers are not viable hitters. Take the “strategy” of that and the double-switch, which 95% of fans don’t follow and go to the bathroom instead, and you’ve got arcane kabuki. The DH trades largely unappreciated kabuki for meaningful action. A small percentage of the overall fanbase will be sad.
Dr. Dan.
And I respectfully disagree. No more number eight hitters being pitched around. Which means they now have more value.
The top of the lineup, which are your best hitters, hit with more men on base. Players who can hit,, the hardest thing to do in baseball, don’t have to be thrown into a position or sit on the bench,
You’ll see better defense, You’ll see the stars have longer careers and you’ll NEVER have to see Willie Mays play outfield in the 1973 World Series.
The DH makes it a better game and as Bob Boone said, the most difficult decision a manager has it when to take out a pitcher. And he said that decision is much more difficult in the AL.
The AL is a better game.
NL Pitchers could really help them selves, if they could at least learn how to BUNT !! It’s a lost art and shouldn’t be. If they could bunt then they would be able to hit a little better because they will have better hand & eye coordination.
You make good points. As a long time opponent of the DH, I’ve finally come around a few seasons go. Simply, uniformity between the two leagues is the biggest reason for me. But you provide good arguments as well. Hope the MLBPA really pushes this without giving up more apparently significant issues for the players.
The above comment was @macstruts
Let’s say you’re a manager in the National League. It’s the sixth inning or so and you’re down 1-0. Your pitcher is doing well but he’s coming to bat, he can’t hit his weight, there’s a runner on second and two out. You’d prefer to leave him in, but you really need to try and score.
The NL pitcher will almost always be yanked in that situation. Maybe it will work out, maybe not. Because of the DH, an AL manager never has to make that decision. I think it takes something away from the game.
I agree STL. Get rid of the DH. It makes the game boring. Some guy that can’t play a position sits on the bench and then goes up and strikes out 25-30% of the time, hits into the most DP on the team, hits a HR ever 5th game, and clogs up the bases if he doesn’t hit a HR. Time to rid the game of the guy with no real skills except hitting.
You got it wrong, The AL is forcing non professional BASEBALL players to try to hit. Pitchers are all professional baseball players. They pitch and play defense at their position and they hit in the NL. A really good hitting pitcher is a huge advantage in the NL. .
DH is the fat kid that you picked last in sandlot. The guy that could not throw well or catch the ball. They serve no purpose in the game.
As a whole they hit no better in MLB than the league average last season. .252/.339/.467 vs .252/.323/.435. Which was DH and which was all of MLB including pitchers?
Pitchers are usually the best athlete on the team and college. Either the pitchers or the shortstop.
I hit .379 in college, but because I could throw a baseball 92-93 MPH they didn’t let me even PRACTICE hitting once I became a pro. i got bunting practice. Two rounds per day of bunting. 9 pitches. That’s it. No time in the cage. No discussions or sessions with the hitting coaches. Just bunting practice.
It is not that pitchers can’t hit, its that they are not given the opportunity to practice the skill.
I am an Angels fan and I disagree. The DH takes the beauty away from the game. The strategy. And it gives a guy that has no reason to even be near a baseball field a paycheck.
I will always be a diehard baseball fan and the game is sound; it’s the jackasses in suits in cities named New York, Los Angeles and Boston who have perverted the leagues into an industry. I will always love the child’s game of base-ball; I won’t always be a fan of the corporation that is “Major League Baseball”. Thanks a lot, Selig.
Yeah, that’s quite and advantage when the AL has to bat a pitcher who has not swung a bat in his life.
What advantage are you talking about?
Right, especially for you fans who go to watch the manager manage, as opposed to watching the players play.
Put me in the camp of those who don’t care, but just want to see the same rules in both leagues.
Jack Morris was a decent hitter, but I can only remember him batting in one game that I saw. Up 13-1 or something against the Halos. Hit one to the warning track in right.
If you are going to pretend to be Fred Kuhaulua you should at least know that he never went to college
Nah, you ain’t missing anything. It’s a horrible tv show.
Springer? The show always involves “cheating”. If ya know what I mean.
Well played Frisco, well played.
The “Human Element” is always BEST… NO ‘Bots – No ‘Bots – NO ‘BOTS
Armando Galaragga disagrees.
I don’t like the instant replay crap either. Umpires occasionally screwing up is part of the game.
Well apparently I did. I thought he was still under that 2 year contract.
I know, right? I had to Google him. The guy is a stud though – his numbers are right there with Bregman’s ‘cept he strikes out more. The $17 M that the club is offering says something about him.
Robot called Strike zone….guess those catcher “framing” statistics and the value placed on catchers who practice and excel at stealing strikes will finally fade away along with much of the excuses and complaints.
I will continue to believe that pitch framing is phony stat until someone can provide a plausible explanation for how it is done.
I could not agree more Blue Sky.
Totally agree Bluesky. ‘The human element’ should be the PLAYERS, not some guy behind the plate who is incapable of calling a consistent game. It’s humanly impossible for a person to call pitches consistently the same. Bring on roboump. Players would rather have consistency- both hitters and pitchers.
Not only is it impossible for a human to call the game consistently throughout, most umps deliberately alter the strike zone and play cat and mouse with the pitchers and batters, though the batters definitely get the worst of it. Time for the robots.
Electronic umpires should be implemented as soon as viable tech is available. It could even be a hybrid system under which the umpires have a screen in their mask that overlays the strike zone and the computer aids them in determining whether the ball hit the zone or not. The human ump still has the to make the ultimate decision to call it a ball or strike.
Yeah, I don’t trust the human ump having a role in decision-making on balls and strikes. They’ve proven themselves incapable of sticking to the actual strike zone. They want to play cat and mouse with the pitchers and hitters. Keep them out of it. The viable technology is already here. The robots are far more accurate and entirely consistent.
Man’s ego costs him dearly, yet again.
What are you blabbering about? Cat and mouse with the pitcher and batter? You know they are all graded after each game right? Well except Angel Hernandez because that would be racist.
Have you ever been behind the plate in anything but T ball? You probably think the T plays cat and mouse with the 4 YOs. Umpiring is just like hitting somedays the ball is a grapefruit others it is a ping pong ball. Lots of factors play into it.
I know all these stat head geeks need to find a stat for everything so they made up this one. Some stats are very good and some bad IMHO. They are also improving some.
I am torn on robo umps but they would take away a lot of complaining. Soon we will have sensors and they make safe and out calls. When does the ball hit the glove and foot the base.
I do know I hate some of the new rules. You save 3 mins in a 3 hour game. Thanks that means I can sit in traffic 3 mins faster.
compassrose
Umps absolutely play cat and mouse with pitchers and hitters. They decide their own secret strike zone and leave it up to pitchers and hitters to figure out what it is. And sometimes that strike zone morphs throughout the game. Happens all the time. Just watch mlb.com gamecast pitch tracker and you’ll see it. And you’ll see all the balls called strikes and a strike here and there called a ball. It’s pathetic. When the robots come, good riddance to the umps.
I totally agree! Tired of seeing these prima-donna umps trying to make the game about themselves! No one pays to see these umps call a horrible game & eject your favorite player because they can’t perform a simple task such as calling balls & strikes!
They better move the K-zone down then, because otherwise hitters are going to complain they’re calling then too high..With the roboumps, all it has to do is nip the smallest portion of the high and outside corner, and itll be a strike…Yet, I can assure you noone will think it should actually be a strike..
It is going to be an advantage for pitchers I think more so than hitters.
The technology is already here. Trackman. It is already being used in all 30 MLB parks to track pitches.
It worked well in the Atlantic league and the Arizona Fall league this past season. This year it is being installed in 60 teams in the lower minors. In 2021 the system will be in place throughout the minors and when the 2022 season begins it will be implemented in the majors. ,
You make a very good point, bravesfan. A rainbow curve that nicks the top of the strike zone (according to the k-zone box) is probably one of the toughest calls for a pitcher to get, and not for no reason. The pitch spends a lot of time out of the zone. That’s what convinces a batter to not swing at it and it’s also what can often convince an umpire to not call it a strike. All the catcher’s mitt twitching in the world isn’t going to make as much difference as the pitch trajectory. The same can be said about low arm-angle pitches and pretty much any pitch with late break. Pitches fool umpires for the same reasons they fool batters.
It’s something that becomes obvious once you watch for it. Watch someone universally believed to be bad at framing and you’ll see a catcher whose hand darts outside of the zone to catch a ball, making the ball appear more outside than it is (some of this is chalked up to getting crossed up with the pitcher, but that’s a problem in and of itself for a catcher). You watch a good catcher like Roberto Perez and the glove seems to hardly move, even on borderline pitches.
What it comes down to skill-wise is being able to anticipate the motion of pitches and setting up in the right place – getting your glove there before the ball is. It’s reaction time and fast twitch muscle memory.
If anything it speaks to umpire corruption.
Well, first, you should consider it more like “pitch receiving” and/or “pitch presenting”, and it is a very real thing. As an umpire myself (travel ball, showcase, HS, and D2 college) the way a catcher receives a pitch, and how he/she presents that pitch can sometimes make the difference between a ball and a strike.
For example, take this scenario, from the umpire’s perspective you see the catcher set up directly on the outside of the corner of the plate, and the pitch comes in right on that edge. Well, if that catcher moves his glove further outside to receive the pitch in the middle of his glove, you know it’s a ball, and off the corner. However, a good receiving catcher can catch that ball using the outer portion of his glove, not moving it. I can assure you, 10 times out of 10 every umpire will call the 1st a ball, yet that same umpire will call the 2nd scenario a strike.
When you are dealing with being forced to make split second decisions, it is the finer details like that which helps umpires make their calls. From the time the pitch is released to when it is caught only two to three TENTHS OF A SECOND pass. You don’t even have time to blink; otherwise, you’ll miss the pitch. You have to be consistently accurate in your calls pitch after pitch for several hundred pitches, so having a quality receiver definitely helps not only you as the umpire but his pitcher as well
What you say, is true. However if a robot is capable of being more consistent- and we know the tech is there – we should use it.
The players are infinitely more a part of this game, than are umpires. Why penalize a player because their ability to identify a pitch IS BETTER than an umpires?
Braves fan I agree with what you said but couldn’t put all my thoughts into the post so it would be brief. Along the same line of that catcher sets up on the outside of the plate but crosses his body to make s catch down the middle of the of the plate. Your eyes see something but the catchers movement tells you another. This more often than not is a ball.
I don’t think I agree that 10 out of 10 would call that scenario a strike. It is all about a few inches or maybe an inch or less.
You are far more advanced than I was. I did HS and Legion ball. Also mens league which was more babysitting than baseball. There were some good pitchers though. I worked with guys that would call a strike if the guy set up 2 balls outside of the plate. It sucked to ump teams after games they umped.
I know it sounds like I am contradicting myself but I am not. Balls and strikes can be work to call if you take pride in your location or if you are lazy and call two balls outside and one in. Worked with guys like that.
Another you will see is during a long tough game the strike zone will come up a bit. As the legs get tired you rise up and that moves the zone up. Anyway this is all opinion and it will vary just like the zone. Good luck Braves Fan on the upcoming year. I truly hope you are a teacher over what many of the guys I ran into that were or are college umps. Some were real jerks. One guy in our HS assoc wouldn’t talk to you until he did 2-3 games with you and would decide if you were worthy to talk to. Lol He told me that during our 2nd game when he decided I was worthy. He was an ahole I hated working with him and a guy whose brother was an MLB ump. Pieces of work both of them.
Haha oh yeah, I know exactly the type…Then, all of a sudden YOU are the one with the dinner plate k-zone, all because they want to make the game faster..Or because they don’t want to challenge themselves to be consistent enough to make the tough calls..
We have those types in our HS association and our local LL..Even worse though is when you get some of the D1 guys that go to HS games and then call the same zone as they do a GA-FLA game..It kills me, and ends up just being a carousel of walks..lol
And yeah, that whole as the game gets longer the zone gets higher…See it alot too..Its usually with guys that don’t have proper positioning and a solid stance to begin with..Either that or bigger, out of shape guys..lol..
blue sky, you unknowingly just admitted that your baseball IQ is lower than you generally try to portray on here. get behind a plate and get back to us.
Right on Blue Sky!
I’m glad to be rid of framing too, @BlueSkyLA. But as for you not believing it, the plausible explanations are out there in volume – it’s not anyone else’s fault you haven’t bothered to look.
But then again, you’re used to having opinions on things you openly admit you don’t know much about.
Thank you those who actually made some attempt to answer to my point instead of trying to change the subject. (Even to those of you who believe that snark and insults are a valid argument. You know who you are.)
To everyone I would ask a few simple questions: what method do pitchers use to deceive hitters, and why do we need a separate theory for how they deceive umpires? And how sustainable is that theory when every umpire will tell you that they judge balls and strikes where the pitch crosses the plate, not where the catcher receives it? And if the “pitch framing” skill is so simple, why doesn’t everybody do it? And how can a catcher who is good at it in one year become no so good at it the next? Did he forget how it was done, or what?
In brief – it doesn’t matter what the Unpires SAY they judge it on, what matters is the action and result. They have a process that rationalizes a ball or strike call – which includes deception from the pitcher, and catcher, whether they like it or not.
Umpires have a margin of error – pitch framing is attempting to maximize that margin in the pitchers favour. Umpires make the correct call just a tick over 90% of the time based on most metrics – that error margin exists, whether the Unpires like it or not.
And who is saying the pitch framing skill is simple? Anyone who proposes that, is ignorant. It’s not simple – that’s why it’s a skill – by your own words. A skill. Some are good, some are bad. Positive pitch framers bring value that others don’t.
How someone sets up, how they receive the ball, how far their lower or top half moves to meet the ball spot (including away or on), how hastily or jerky the movement is towards the ball spot..it all contributes to how the umpire makes a split second judgement.
Glad to be rid of ‘framing’ it for no other reason. The fact that an umpire can be fooled is telling. It’s not the ‘mistakes’ they make it’s the intentional changing of the strike zone from ump to ump. If they’d just call the zone as the rules indicate I’d be OK. BTW. A BU professor and some grad students did a study on ball and strike calling. In 2018 the ML umps missed 34,000 b/s calls – about 14 a game. Here’s a bigger one. When there is 2 strikes on the batter, umpires called strike 3 incorrectly over 21% of the time it had been as high as 30% some years.Over a ten year period, they were twice as likely to blow that call as they were with less than 2 strikes.
(see bu.edu/articles/2019/mlb-umpires-strike-zone-accur…)
Thanks for those stats. I’ve been saying 5 to 20 bad calls a game for years. 14 sounds right. Hadn’t heard that about third strikes. Travesty. And totally unnecessary now.
Start working on a 12-6 curve. Robot will see that ball cross the strike zone, hit the dirt and call it a strike. Side angle shots have shown the ball cross the hitter’s knees and drop down. Also need to call that letter high strike.
I’m for it. Prepare for something that will take the game out of the norm.
Yeah they need to call that letter high pitch again instead of these whining about a pitch higher than there belt buckle
Sorry, but IMO no pitcher is capable of dropping that 12-6 curve, as you describe it, with enough velocity to make it a good, effective pitch. And if there are inequities that are exposed, I believe adjustments to the zone would be easily adjusted in the logic within the machine.
I certainly trust that ability to get it corrected, then I’ve seen from the minds of Joe West and Angel Hernandez and others – over the years.
Softball pitchers can. Lol
The umpire will be there to over turn those rare calls
Mr. Guest. The batters will adapt. The Runners will adapt The catchers will adapt. And no one will have to adapt to the umpire. Which is a good thing.
I’m actually looking forward to better offensive catches. Catchers will have less of a need to be defense first, which may lead to more SBs.
Regardless, the more players determine the outcome, the better the game.
As much as I am opposed of the DH in the National League, I am more against the use of robot as umpires. You might be able to sell me on sensors in the foul pills, but we dont need the terminator calling balls and strikes.
Yeah, we do. As bad as all the hitters pissed off about bad calls–and they are right about 90% of the time–are the fans who are disenchanted with the game by them. I count 5-20 bad calls per game and oftentimes they could be or are game changing. That’s sickening.
Mo, when you say 5-20 bad calls a game, I believe you are being very generous. I believe there are times when there are 3-5 bad calls – in a half inning.
Thank you Joe West.
Sure, plenty of times they come in bunches.
You know many umps I worked with would say they had a great game if they missed 5 pitches. Calling balls and strikes is hard join your local HS assoc and try it. They would love to have you.
Depending on where you live you will do C team games and take a few years to get to varsity. Don’t be a guy who sits in the stands or on your couch complaining about a pitch the ump missed a couple inches outside the plate.
You know what bthe definition of brave and stupid is? Standing behind a 16-18 yo that is all that is between you and an 80 mph fastball. When they reach close to 100 that is worse.
I have done it and the chest protector doesn’t stop the foul tip from hurting. The ball will find any weak spot on your gear. Took a foul off the chest protector and got hit on the collar bone right in the seam. Dr said it was a deep bone bruise and no more plate work for the rest of the season. You have seen the work of a foul tip and the mask. That really hurts. Go out and try out then complain it is not that easy.
I dont think anyone is saying the job is easy… but to the contrary, it’s too hard to expect perfection from humans. But you can from a computer.
So take that burden off of the umps.
I see it like it would be comparable to asking basketball refs to remove the actual rims, and just eyeball it… absurd right? Football ref eyeballing an invisible set of uprights… how would they have ever call the double-doink? Hockey goals??? 120mph shot off the pipes?…forget it.
We now have the tech to eliminate eyeballing in baseball.
If we dont do this, should we also get rid of the foul poles and chalk??… just eyeball it guys…it creates more “human element” in the game.
…this could also lead to umps moving from directly behind the plate, to a safer location from fouls, more behind the batter… and a better location to called checked swings possibly???
ONE bad call can change a game. The difference in run expectancy or batting average on a 1-2 count and a 2-1 count is staggering.
The umpire will still be there. They aren’t hiring C-3Po.
Robot umpires are the dumbest idea yet. Just a continuation of the destruction of the greatest sport ever.
Nah. They’re one of the best ideas ever. Talk about fixing a major problem.
No. The DH and replays are the dumbest rules ever. This one, if replays are allowed makes sense as it’s where the umps do the worst.
I can’t tell whether Stark is being quoted, paraphrased, of if the writer is simply editorializing on his own.
Either bring in the robot ump or get rid of the union fools that are so bad they are bringing the robots on.
Why not both?
Would be interesting to see what Angel Hernandez’s input would be… lol….
About a 62% chance he’ll be wrong
He’ll be the first ump tossed arguing balls and strikes.
LOL
If Robot umpires existed 10 years ago, Mariano Rivera does not make it to 600 saves.
Strike zone the size of Texas.
The stars at night – are big and bright
Deep in the heart of texas.
The pitch to Millar – is wide and high
Deep in the heart of texas.…
Don’t quit your day job.
B.S. Though you could say that about Pedro Martinez. His average strike was 4″ off the plate. With robot umps, he doesn’t make the Hall of Fame.
Bring on the robot umps!
Case in point. Some pitchers get preferential treatment based on the fact they usually have great control. Probably some batters do too because of their ‘good eye’. There are some umpires, I’m sure, that call strikes on balls just to get players to swing and not wait for a walk.
Robot umpires, three batter minimum, this game is changing for the worse!
Stay hot Manfred…idiot.
Ten million for the best catcher in MLB.
That’s how much Realmuto’s total career earnings are……..ten million!
Realmuto will have to hit the open market next winter. Boston will easily surpass a $150 million contract offer. Realmuto will be a Fenway legend.
You say $10 million as if it was minimum wage or something. It’s still double what most people will earn in an entire lifetime of slaving away.
Yes, I know the market calls for it, but seriously get some perspective here.
What you earn is in direct proportion to the value you bring to the table. Realmuto is an entertainer that brings more value to the table in one season that you do in a lifetime.
Oh, you so crazy!
youtu.be/7OIBcTE2DlA
Never forget. You guys are right though, Robot umps are gonna ruin the game. Because the human eye has never truly affected the outcome of a game, right?
Quick reminder, this very same season, we had to play the Rangers in a game 163 because we had the exact same record. A “human mistake” dictated the result of an entire baseball game, which in the end can change the entire outcome of a teams season. Maybe if this game continued that game and we won, then that game 163 wouldn’t have been necessary. Obviously you can easily nit pick say that about any game over the course of a 162 game season, but we have enough evidence at this point that having a precise system put in place to keep things fair is much more beneficial than relying on some cross eye dude who thinks the strike zone is much smaller or larger than it really is.
It hardly matters at all if the strike zone is a tad larger or smaller. What matters to players and fans who care about the sport – is that the zone is CONSISTENT for hitters and pitchers.
I’d think the union would be fighting this tooth and nail. Robots calling balls and strikes. Plays at the bases reviewable along with the majority of other plays. The next time the umpires strike they’re not gonna have much leverage.
It’s a tough call…umpires aren’t very good with balls and strikes and having robots replace them seems like a bad idea too. I can’t decide if I’m for it or against it.
If they’re gonna throw the hitters a bone by giving them a consistent strike zone they should raise the mound back up to the old standard.
pitchers are wronged by incompetant humans, too!
True, but it’s far more likely the strike zone is too large (favors the pitcher) than too small (favors the hitter).
I think it would shorten game time also because pitchers couldn’t risk nibbling the corners as much as they do – and hitters would put balls in play sooner in the at bats.
Who cares about the umpires union. That has been the whole problem. Umpires union has been holding back progress. And I’m pro union.
What leverage does the umpires union have now? Modern technology has made them expendable.
The umpires agreed to the automated ball and strike calling system in their new CBA they signed for the 2020 season. No jobs will be lost. In fact, new jobs will be created to speed up the replay time.
That robot umpire paragraph was very well written. Cheers!
Very tall hitters will have a huge strike zone under the current definition of the strike zone. As they should. MLB will probably just change the definition to help them avoid 300 K seasons.
Likewise low “strikes” at the shins will not be called on tall players just because a human ump can’t adjust.
I imagine everyone who is opposed to the “robot” strikezone was also opposed to replay. Taking umpires and their bs bad calls out of the game is good. Change just for the sake of change is bad, but this is not that.
Replay changes 2 plays a game. Robo umps change half the game. Plus, I love to see spitting mad managers fired up at umps. That momentous fire alters a game more than a robot would.
Maybe ban emotion from baseball?
don’t worry. there are still first and third base umps to get mad at for swings.
So you are saying that umpires miss half the calls on balls and strikes? No.
According to the studies its about 14 calls per game and the very worst umpires about 40% of borderline calls.
I was opposed to replay. I thought it would slow down the game and that they couldn’t get it right. I now like replay. I’d change one minor aspect, but overall,
If the umpire sees a player come off a bag, then the umpire should call him out, but if a player comes off the bad for a fraction of a second, like when his front leg pops up and his back leg catches the bag a fiftieth of a second later, that shouldn’t be overturned. if the umpire can’t tell, when no one else can tell, why should a camera be able to call you out?
I’m heavily in favor of robo-umps. Umpires decide every close game and it’s physically impossible for them to get it right. The ability of pitches have exceeded the ability of umpires.
Crooked and/or biased umpires are gonna have to work a lot harder to influence things. First it was replay, and soon it will be pitch calls.
With so many RICH players being awarded Substantial Increases in arbitration almost without major Justification–The Luxury Tax moves like a TURTLE–I site JBJ–$11 M and Betts–$27 M–those two escalate the need to make trades to stay within the ridiculous $208 M Cap.
Robot (or laser-guided) strike zones, DH in the NL, balance the schedule, no more interleague – remove all the moronic, useless elements of the game like senior citizen male umpires, pitchers hitting, and playing 1 team 20 times and another 3, so we get pure baseball again.
No more “human element” in important in-game decisions. No more ego involved, no more stupid ejections because someone got in their feelings. This is a billion dollar industry, no other billion dollar allows human error to be such a factor, so MLB needs to fall in line too.
Make every AB matter. Stop killing rallies by making a .100 hitter get AB’s over a professional hitter. Period. So sick of NL baseball, it’s so legitimately boring to watch. It’s almost like soccer at this point, with the amount of rallies killed by the pitchers spot.
If every team played each other 6 at home and 6 away, that’s a totally balanced 168 game schedule – no more fraud postseason teams! The best will be playing the best, not who got to face the Orioles 20 times last year. No more interleague makes the World Series even more interesting.
If I was commish, I would make these changes on my first day. I see absolutely nothing wrong with any of this, and it makes the game more pure, less influenced by non-playing factors.
you must have not watched barca playing ‘football’ when they are playing well.
I stopped watching football decades ago due to the constant inaccurate, imbalanced calling of plays. I’ve done the same with baseball off and on for decades. And now it’s totally unnecessary. Bring on the robots!
You are not a Traditional Baseball Fan & you never have been.
The DH is not a Traditional part of the game because the DH started in the 70’s
Video replay on calls is not part of the traditional game
Robo umpires is not part of the traditional game
Pitcher’s hitting is a traditional part of the game
The human element is a traditional part of the game
You want to destroy the traditional game of baseball then start your own league & only use robots & video replays & see how long your idiotic baseball league lasts.
Hey just think if pitchers didn’t hit then there would have been no George H Ruth because he was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox
You don’t know what “traditional” means. The game has been evolving since day 1 and always will evolve – its a certain bunch of people who act like it shouldnt because of their own arrogance to think “well its how I learned the game, so it should always stay that”, but it never has and never will.
You sound like a low-IQ thug. Yeah, Ruth probably would have just always been a hitter then, because honestly he was terrible as a pitcher, look at his K rate.
Go away now, lol
I understand the argument for robo umps. It would clean up calls.
Personally, I appreciate the subtle nuances of sports. Umpiring and missed calls are one of them, and an integral part of the game in my opinion. Sure, bad calls are made, and can be egregious (although rarely) at times. I don’t think it changes the outcome of a team’s season. Maybe a game can be altered. But mistakes are part of a game in any game, from baseball to Monoply. I enjoy the added variables. It adds to the mystery of the outcome.
In the game, there are 3 teams. Two ball clubs, and the crew. Human error is part of what I love about the game. Players and umps alike make mistakes. It happens. So long as it isn’t intentionally one-sided, I take no issue.
Sure Darryl you don’t mind – that is- until YOUR team gets screwed.
All teams get screwed at some point, mine included. The law of averages and more-so, the Baseball Gods, make sure things even out.
Except for the fact that they don’t average out inside a game or a season you might have a point.
If only that were true. Did you know that you will get the result of a game correct more often then not by betting the home plate umpire than the teams? Certain umpires simply make more bad calls against certain teams. I won 64% of my bets on games last season because I look at who the home plate umpire is and weigh that against who the teams are.
Some example would be that the Angels lost 68% of all games Tim Timmons was the home plate umpire. If CB Bucknor is the home plate umpire you can expect nearly 20% more strikeouts than the league average and the Angels to win nearly 60% of their games. Timmons about 18% more than league average and the home team wins 60% of the games. If Carlos Torres is the HP ump you can expect less strikeouts than average and more runs scored and the road team to win a higher percentage of games. Same with Mike Winters on runs, but not on road teams winning. He is about average on strikeouts. If Alfonso Marquez is the HP ump, expect about average strikeouts, but 25% more walks and a 78% chance that the over bet is good. If Ben May is the HP umpire expect very few walks and the under bet to hit about 70% of the time.
Home plate umpires effect every game. That is why with legalized betting coming to MLB, robo umps are a must.
@Koamalu – excellent points!!!
Every week of the season the outcome of games are changed by bad calls. It certainly changes the results of the season. And there’s absolutely no reason for it. No poetry in the human element of getting it wrong over and over and over all game long. It can be fixed. So fix it.
Having certainty as to what the strike zone is, isn’t an “advantage” for the hitter. It’s baseline. It’s literally part of the definition of how the game is to be played.
Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine would not be Hall of Famers with the Robo-umps. Just sayin…
You’re probably right. Watched a lot of their games back in the 90’s. Smh.
The Yankees would have been in last place every year if there was robo umps
Maddux had such pinpoint control that he would have done just fine.
BU study determined 14 bad calls a game. Most of these favor the pitcher. Getting the calls right consistently will definitely help hitters. Getting it wrong is not part of the definition of the game. It’s a corruption of the rulebook.
It will be interesting to see how they program the robo umps. I always thought that a lot of those big 12-6 curves were called balls because they ended up towards the catchers feet, but actually crossed the zone as a strike. But overall, I think it benefits the hitters a lot more than pitchers. Now, just rid of the “Shift” and you will see the averages go back to what they once were.
I think you’re right.
I think they are going to move the strike zone up to the top of the kneecap like it was before instead of the bottom.of the kneecap like it is now.
Nips to caps, simple
For Every Traditional Baseball fan everywhere you can finally say goodbye to the TRADITIONAL GAME OF BASEBALL & before long instead of humans playing the games it will be robots playing.
Bud Selig & now Rob Manfred are destroying the game of baseball & the Greats of the game who have gone on to the Big Stadium in the Clouds are all rolling over in their graves with the destruction of the traditional game of baseball.
Yes, it’s sadly true that some “fans” won’t be happy with baseball until it’s turned into a video game.
Yes, it’s sadly true that some “fans” will never be happy with baseball, and actually have been complaining about the game for longer than they haven’t been complaining about the game.
What kind of arrogant dimwit decides everyone should do what they want just because they refuse to admit the thing they love evolves and grows?
What will be GREAT once robo umps are installed is that you will be gone. The game of baseball has always evolved. There is no “traditional” game. As times have changed the game has changed and THAT is part of the beauty of baseball.
Can’t wait for the Astros and Red Sox hack the strike zone…
Don’t ruin the sport with all these changes. Let pitchers hit and umpires call balls and strikes. There is strategy in deciphering what the strike zone will be from pitch to pitch, just like the strategy of having pitchers flail away in the batters box.
I also think as a society we need to bring back rotary landline telephones, black and white tube TVs and the steam ship as the preferred method of cross ocean transportation. It was good enough for my grandfather’s generation, it’s good enough for me.
The Pony Express wasn’t given a fair chance… derrrnn telegraph
How about a poll asking us who wants to continue with the bad calls and who wants consistency of robocalls. Guess I revealed my vote in how I worded that.
Put the robot sensors in place and let bad calls be challenged like outs and such…the sensors should be able to turn on a red or green light damn near immediately of there is a challenge…it would take 1-3 minutes of NY booth review….this could be a compromise between all robot or all human inconsistency w/ errors