never said bad calls i said calls on borderline pitches this is something that already exists, and has existed for decades i remember guys like carlton and seaver getting them i don't want to see that going the way of the neighborhood play [via replay] you're talking about changing the game, i'm talking about leaving it as is if an effective quality control process already existed we wouldn't be discussing changes
I'll agree that improvements can likely be made to the quality control process. But some estimates show that even the good umpires are wrong 10% of the time. One issue, I think, is that calling balls and strikes is just incredibly hard. Especially at the major league level. So no matter how much changes in quality control help, it can always be improved with technology help. The more I think about it, a good solution is to 1) get the umpires' union to agree to bonuses, promotion and replacement based on call accuracy (that's the tough part), then 2) simply offer technology to help any umpire who wants the help.
You're headed down the right path Mousey. They have to see tech as the assist towards accuracy with accuracy paying their bills. THEN maybe all those except West and Hernandez will get on board
Close Rube, closer but no cigar Upgrade the VR goggles on his belt to wearing the now defunct Google Glasses. Vast improvement because the ump gets a red (strike) or green (ball) at the exact instant, or as close thereto, as the ball clears the plate. The ump sees color at the same time his ears her the catchers mitt slap. Then all he has to do is respond real time with BOTH what he saw and what the technology/teams/MLB office/Fans see. He gets a full 1 second ( a long time) and then makes his call. He's always right. Even arrogant West should concur. And even better umps train their brains to be more accurate and have a helper in their hip pocket. Blue still has to call all batter movement until we get teh next stage of computer vision which can in 3D show the bat path into or through the strike zone. Did he swing? Nice to count on 3B or 1B but if the home plate's Glass showed the bat arc intersecting then it's over, Strike! We're not that far along quite yet. West calls a ball when the computer sees a strike and the scoreboard shows the exact placement yet puts up whatever call Blue makes. Fuck up and 40,000 people go nuts and call your shit instantly. Like real life. Blue still calls bat action. He still calls interference and a whole slew of other things. He just gets help on balls and strikes. That way both eyes are open but Blue still gets the badly needed digital assist. I've umpired behind the plate and it is indeed not easy getting strike calls accurate. You can only choose one spot to stand, all strike zones are different based upon the batter, the catcher is moving all over, everything happens in .15 second and both teams count on your impartiality. Blue deserves all the help the can get.
What you are doing is a recipe for fans killing refs in certain parts of the world. You are making refs simply be rubber stampers to googles algorithms of tracking the ball. So google instantly calls the strike, the whole stadium, the tv viewers, the internet, the world all see the pitch with their eyes and see the google data call the pitch. The ref then has 1 second to either agree with the scientifically established fact or to disagree and have the world against him all with proof that he is either incompetent, biased, or on the take. You take out any reason for him to ever call anything else but simply agree with what google calls. To not agree comes with too high a price. No. An ump has to use his gut as his guide when he isnt sure. The human factor cannot be removed and it still be the same game. The ump has to be allowed to call the game as he sees fit. The only difference is that now he knows that he cant be a dick/biased because the manager has some power over him. The manager has some ability to check him if the manager believes the ump has made a bad call. That is huge enough.
Exactly. This is where we already are today except that today the umpire is NOT ALLOWED to see the data. ?!??:crazy: TV screens show millions that the 'strike' was 2 balls out all day long. Random millions of TV and online audiences have access to better data than the Blue crews. I'm looking at tech as being giving the ump the instant advantage of seeing FACT based upon the 1000 sensors and cameras AND THEN decide if the batter swung or other things were involved. I'm trying to empower him to use tech to his advantage, not overrule his up close and personal instincts. As an umpire I was taught to align the batters inside edge of the strike zone which necessitates that the outside pitches were more nebulously called. Of course they are, I only have one set of eyes. I think most Blue do a fantastic job and high speed cameras catch them being right an extremely high % of the time. So give him another tool. The same one we consumers have all had for a decade.
