Something better than Instant Replay

[MasterBlaster]

Thankfully, IR is finally coming to MLB in August, according to the reports I read a few weeks ago. Although in a limited form, this is a step in the right direction. My ultimate vision of Baseball is to completely remove human Umpires from the game entirely, even behind home plate calling balls & strikes.

 

With today's technology, there simply isn't a need for a human to judge any facet of the game. We have the cameras and sensors available to accurately call balls & strikes, to make perfect home run calls, check swings and judgments down the line. I don't buy into the concept of 'The Human Element' to the game, in fact it's this human element that ruins the actual game itself (other than the players and fans of course) from time to time.

 

Really, what is so great about wrong, or flat out bad calls? That's what people mean by Human Element, it means that calls are going to be wrong sometimes. All this does is spur on heated, and sometimes entertaining exchanges between managers and self righteous Umpiring crews, in which the final outcome is always the same, that the Umpires were right according to them. Calls can't be reversed by Managers or Players, so it's like talking to a Camera anyway.

 

We don't watch Baseball to be entertained by the Umps, even though I think alot of them believe that with the way they interact within the game. For example those emphatic strike 3's, or taking off the mask, turning around and yelling at the dugouts. It's ridiculous. Get rid of the Umps and there won't be a need for people to yell from the dugouts just how much they suck.

[laryan]

deception is part of the game, imo. if a catcher can frame a ball a couple inches off the plate and fool the umpire...i don't want that part of the game to be removed. if a player can sell a tag that he missed, or sell a catch that he actually trapped or whatever, more power to him. was it tejada that put a swipe tag down on a guy in the all star game at 2nd base and got the out, but replays showed that he missed the tag? well the ball beat him and he sold it well. thats an out. you get lucky on some calls, you get unlucky on some other ones. there are situations where having a camera wouldnt help solve the situation. what would you do about turning double plays? would you replay every double play to determine whether the 2nd baseman was actually on the bag when he had the ball? because in well over half of the double plays made in the league, they aren't. but its just part of the game

[ZiggyTaxi]

I gotta disagree there MasterBlaster. Getting rid of the umpires altogether would be ridiculous.

 

It would no longer be baseball. Thankfully, I doubt very much your ultimate vision of baseball will ever come to pass.

[Sammy Sofa]

HOLOGRAMS.

[otis89]

HOLOGRAMS.

 

http://www.trekweb.com/images/stories/469ba0716ca8e-1

[CubinNY]

I gotta disagree there MasterBlaster. Getting rid of the umpires altogether would be ridiculous.

 

It would no longer be baseball. Thankfully, I doubt very much your ultimate vision of baseball will ever come to pass.

What's baseball?

 

I don't agree at all. Why should Barry Bonds or Greg Maddux get credit for time served? It's stupid. The strike zone for a game in Milwaukee should be the same for a game in Boise or Mobile or anywhere professional baseball is played. Quirky umpires should not be able to determine the outcome of at bats and sometimes games.

[Sammy Sofa]

TELEPATHY.

[otis89]

TELEPATHY.

 

http://www.starfleet-knights.com/Pictures/troi%202.jpg

[Sammy Sofa]

ROBOTS.

[otis89]

ROBOTS.

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/09/DataTNG.jpg

[Transmogrified Tiger]

This thread raises a legitimate point, please don't clutter it with tangentially pointless posts.

 

Personally, I don't think the technology is in place to be able to replace umpires yet. Even stuff like pitch f/x misses pitches with some frequency, and without any human presence the slightest malfunction could be disastrous. Plus there's plenty of judgment calls to be made still, like check swings, balks, and safe/out(again, technology isn't there yet, or technically it is but would slow the game to an insane degree), interference, etc. I'm all for raising the amount of correct calls though, I have no attachment to the "human element" as you call it. It's just not very feasible yet.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I absolutely wouldn't mind an alternative system to calling balls and strikes because that's the single most varied human aspect of the game. zones often change dramatically from day to day, inning to inning, and batter to batter. that said, the relative infrequency with which bad calls are made on routine plays doesn't leave me clamoring for a computer to decide a close play. I'm sure studies would show the correct call is made by an overwhelming majority. bad calls tend to even out over the course of a game and season.

 

I do agree that something should be done about the umpires who act as though they're bigger than the game. the ump who is quick to remove his mask and follow a hitter to the dugout is an unwelcome part of the game. the same could also be said about the players who act in the same manner. the art of civil disagreement has been lost in the Robby Alomars, Milton Bradleys, Delmon Youngs et al of the world. both sides are quick to escalate, and it's one facet of the game I would like to see addressed by the unions.

[otis89]

This thread raises a legitimate point, please don't clutter it with tangentially pointless posts.

 

Sorry, MojoPin and I got a little carried away.

[Amazing_Grace]

This thread raises a legitimate point, please don't clutter it with tangentially pointless posts.

 

Sorry, MojoPin and I got a little carried away.

 

I thought it was hilarious.

 

But seriously, for balls and strikes, I would like the umpires removed as soon as possible except for emergency situations. The technology might not be fast enough yet, but the K-zone they show on TV makes umpires look stupid on a pretty consistent basis. Such a critical facet of the game should be as consistent as possible. The only thing I wonder is how they overcome the fact that technically, the strike zone is a different size based on the hitter. It's supposed to be from the letters to the knees, which due to players of different heights and stances, can look way different from one guy to the next. You'd have to define the zone in a more objective way, such as the zone begins 24 inches off the ground and ends 42 inches off the ground in terms of height, and maybe that's something that needed to happen anyway

 

I don't see how you'd ever call safe/out with machines. There are way too many possible angles and timing issues. You'd have to have umpires somewhere, if not on the field then in the replay booth.

[MasterBlaster]

This thread raises a legitimate point, please don't clutter it with tangentially pointless posts.

 

Sorry, MojoPin and I got a little carried away.

 

I thought it was hilarious.

 

But seriously, for balls and strikes, I would like the umpires removed as soon as possible except for emergency situations. The technology might not be fast enough yet, but the K-zone they show on TV makes umpires look stupid on a pretty consistent basis. Such a critical facet of the game should be as consistent as possible. The only thing I wonder is how they overcome the fact that technically, the strike zone is a different size based on the hitter. It's supposed to be from the letters to the knees, which due to players of different heights and stances, can look way different from one guy to the next. You'd have to define the zone in a more objective way, such as the zone begins 24 inches off the ground and ends 42 inches off the ground in terms of height, and maybe that's something that needed to happen anyway

 

I don't see how you'd ever call safe/out with machines. There are way too many possible angles and timing issues. You'd have to have umpires somewhere, if not on the field then in the replay booth.

 

Motion trackers, pressure sensors and cameras could compile the data and make the judgment call within a split second.

[biittner77]

This thread raises a legitimate point, please don't clutter it with tangentially pointless posts.

 

Sorry, MojoPin and I got a little carried away.

 

I was hoping to see the HCCF malfunctioning robot :(

[Sammy Sofa]

This thread raises a legitimate point, please don't clutter it with tangentially pointless posts.

 

Sorry, MojoPin and I got a little carried away.

 

I was hoping to see the HCCF malfunctioning robot :(

 

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f19/TheMojoPin/robot.jpg

[Little Slide Rooter]

I can just see Lou breaking his foot kicking the UMP-Bot 5000 after a called strike 3 on Ronny Cedeno.

[Careless]

This thread raises a legitimate point, please don't clutter it with tangentially pointless posts.

 

Sorry, MojoPin and I got a little carried away.

 

I thought it was hilarious.

 

But seriously, for balls and strikes, I would like the umpires removed as soon as possible except for emergency situations. The technology might not be fast enough yet, but the K-zone they show on TV makes umpires look stupid on a pretty consistent basis. Such a critical facet of the game should be as consistent as possible. The only thing I wonder is how they overcome the fact that technically, the strike zone is a different size based on the hitter. It's supposed to be from the letters to the knees, which due to players of different heights and stances, can look way different from one guy to the next. You'd have to define the zone in a more objective way, such as the zone begins 24 inches off the ground and ends 42 inches off the ground in terms of height, and maybe that's something that needed to happen anyway

 

I don't see how you'd ever call safe/out with machines. There are way too many possible angles and timing issues. You'd have to have umpires somewhere, if not on the field then in the replay booth.

there's no way Lee would complain if you were able to tell him "Ok, here's the thing: that pitch just below your knees will always be called a strike now, and the one above your waist never will be."

 

Knowing that the strike zone will be a specific location versus something random and particularly unpredictable for people of unusual heights? It's a no-brainer for the hitters.

[jiml60]

I would like to see the technology used to force the umpires to be better and more consistent with their strike zones. I know the umps union was up in arms about the Q(not sure of the correct name) system that they used in some parks.

 

If there was an agreement in place, during the next contract negotiations, to use a similar system that would compile all the data for a particular umpire. Showing him how consistent or inconsistent his strike zone is. It could be used on a monthly review basis, the umpire gets graded, there is a certain grade the umpires must maintain to be hired for the next season.

[davearm2]

One thing that hasn't been pointed out is, this automated/robotic umpire-replacement system not only has to determine every call instantaneously, but there also must be a system to *broadcast* the call to the players on the field instantaneously.

 

The example that immediately comes to mind is the catcher needs to know the ball/strike call in under 1 second when the count is full and a runner is stealing.

 

Both runners and fielders need to know immediately if that sinking liner to left was a catch or a trap.

 

And so on.

[treebird]

One thing that hasn't been pointed out is, this automated/robotic umpire-replacement system not only has to determine every call instantaneously, but there also must be a system to *broadcast* the call to the players on the field instantaneously.

 

The example that immediately comes to mind is the catcher needs to know the ball/strike call in under 1 second when the count is full and a runner is stealing.

 

Both runners and fielders need to know immediately if that sinking liner to left was a catch or a trap.

 

And so on.

 

catchers don't usually wait to hear the call, they often just throw on down to the base, perhaps in part to help sell the pitch as a strike.

 

also, there's no reason you couldn't still have an umpire standing behind home plate if a computer is calling balls and strikes. he needs to be there anyway to make safe/out calls, and you just put a little bug in his ear that tells him to say ball or strike. you wouldn't even know that a computer was involved.

[Derwood]

and the first time the thing breaks or malfunctions......then what?

[treebird]

and the first time the thing breaks or malfunctions......then what?

 

how can we play a game at night what if the lights break

[MasterBlaster]

One thing that hasn't been pointed out is, this automated/robotic umpire-replacement system not only has to determine every call instantaneously, but there also must be a system to *broadcast* the call to the players on the field instantaneously.

 

The example that immediately comes to mind is the catcher needs to know the ball/strike call in under 1 second when the count is full and a runner is stealing.

 

Both runners and fielders need to know immediately if that sinking liner to left was a catch or a trap.

 

And so on.

 

catchers don't usually wait to hear the call, they often just throw on down to the base, perhaps in part to help sell the pitch as a strike.

 

also, there's no reason you couldn't still have an umpire standing behind home plate if a computer is calling balls and strikes. he needs to be there anyway to make safe/out calls, and you just put a little bug in his ear that tells him to say ball or strike. you wouldn't even know that a computer was involved.

 

I prefer a little zap of electricity into the umps scrotum. 1 zap for a strike, 2 zaps for a ball.