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.