The bomb squad doesn't send in a human being to dismantle a bomb set to go off in 5 minutes so that he can possibly be the hero, they use a freaking robot! That's what the robot was created to do, and that's what it does. A random start to this blog, but hopefully you'll see where I'm coming from by the end of this.
Anyone who has been watching the MLB postseason this year has noticed the strike zone in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. A pitch is outside, "strike". A pitch catches the inside corner, "ball". Without a doubt, if you are watching your team bat, and get a bad call from an ump, you're heated. Human error is part of baseball, but does it have to be? If we at home watching on television can see that it is a strike, should it not be called a strike? Tennis has become more accurate in using sensors on lines to know if a ball is in or out, but should baseball use this same technology to avoid miscues? As much as I love seeing a heavyset umpire behind homeplate, and watching the batter jaw at him when he blows a call, I have to wonder what is best for the game. No doubt, an umpire is necessary for plays at homeplate, 1st, 2nd and 3rd base, but as far as a ball being fair or foul (Twins fans, I feel your pain) or a strike being called a ball to walk in a crucial run, or start a rally that should have never taken place? It's unfair for a team to lose a game on a call when we have the technology to avoid such happenings. So instead of hoping that the umpire is making the correct calls that we're seeing on TV, why doesn't baseball take a page out of tennis' book (yeah I just said that) and let the computers call the strikes and balls.
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Get rid of them all! Much rather watch a computer. Can still keep the fat guy behind the catcher for effect.
ReplyDeleteSure, why not use computers instead of umpires. Computers using statistical models now decide the 40 man roster; who is pitching next; who has potential and who doesn't, etc. Hey, I have an idea - let's get rid of managers and have the computers make the decisions during the games as well. None of this silly "gut" instinct being used by the managers and staff. After all, this is a business not a sport!
ReplyDeleteAs a fan for the last 40 years, I've seen so many changes in how baseball the sport has become baseball the business. Computerized umps are just the next step. It's already digressed to the point where the players move from team to team to team as do the managers. Can't blame them; it's the nature of the beast now. Players are taking steroids just to compete - the naturally gifted can hardly compete with the chemically enhanced.
Yes, I know, I sound like an old person - I am. It would just be better if I couldn't remember things as they used to be when baseball was a game and business was a sideline of the game. Oh well, progress!