MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was fielding questions on Wednesday and that’s when he updated us all that having robot umpires in baseball is not as far off as we think. I had no idea they were even working on it.
Via the Athletic…
“I think we are much closer than we were a year ago to having the technological capability to actually call the strike zone,” Manfred starts. “The accuracy is way up – way better than what it was a year ago. The technology continues to move … and it actually moved a little faster than I might have thought.” “There remains a fundamental question the owners are going to have to address. When you take away the home-plate umpire’s control over the strike zone, you take away a principal piece of his authority in terms of managing the whole game. … We haven’t had a lot of conversations with (the umpires) on this topic, but I do think there is a serious management-of-the-game issue you’d have to think about with respect to that change.”
Rosenthal: Given that, can you foresee a time when the zone is called by technology and not by umpires?
Manfred: Let me say it in two different pieces. I think we are much closer than we were a year ago to having the technological capability to actually call the strike zone. We have worked very hard on PITCHf/x (a pitch-tracking system). Hats off to (MLB Executive Vice-President of Strategy, Technology and Innovation) Chris Marinak and (Chief Technology Officer) Jason Gaedtke.
The accuracy is way up — way better than what it was a year ago. The technology continues to move … and it actually moved a little faster than I might have thought.
There remains a fundamental question the owners are going to have to address. When you take away the home plate umpire’s control over the strike zone, you take away a principal piece of his authority in terms of managing the whole game. You really need to think carefully about whether you want to make that change.
Rosenthal: I imagine the umpires would be violently opposed …
Manfred: It’s interesting. Fifteen years ago, the umpires were violently opposed to instant replay. They came around and actually wanted it. Who knows? We haven’t had a lot of conversations with them on this topic, but I do think there is a serious management-of-the-game issue you’d have to think about with respect to that change.
I think this technology would seriously jeopardize their entire profession. Why would you even need an umpire behind the plate? There’s no way they accept this technology, it will inevitably put them out of work.
