I'm sure at one point, the thought of having phones in the bullpen was preposterous... Once replay was allowed into baseball, ALL forms of technology are certainly fair game.... especially an electronic strike zone.
Hey I’m for it, I was just kidding. I like the idea or at least something along those lines. I mean hell, look at the NFL and their headsets. Anything that can help improve the game without changing the game itself should always be looked at.
From what I'm hearing, the current statcast stuff is not quick enough to make calls as quick as an umpire and still has hiccups. I'm shocked that it is still not there. An electronic zone would dramatically change the game. Strikeouts and walks would likely skyrocket initially as umps favor whoever is behind. I like that an electronic zone would be fair. I wish there was a way to be fair and induce contact.
If they ever do decide to go with the electronic strike zone, it will require a fundamental change in how balls and strikes are called. I've seen, fairly regularly, breaking balls that nearly end up in the dirt clip the bottom of the strike zone.
They've done some of it in the independent leagues... and it seems to work fast (especially if you remember the days of Tim McClleland's delayed strike/strikeout calls). I can't imagine they have access to better technology than what MLB does. They also still use an ump to make the call (he gets a signal whether or not its a strike).
Of course.. but with more consistent zones, players and pitchers should have a better ability to adjust. I think I'd much rather have that vs. a strike zone that changes game to game based on who the ump is... or with some umps the zone could change inning-to-inning, or batter-to-batter.
How accurate and how reliable? I have a hard time believing independent leagues have accurate and timely systems when MLB does not.
With effective robot overlords umpires, pitchers should not have trouble adjusting. Batters, especially lefties, are likely to have a tough time as certain pitches that are now called balls often and are hard to drive would be consistently called strikes.
Looks like JD Martinez and the Red Sox finally agreed on a deal. I’m predicting a down year for him. Arrieta should be signing somewhere in the next day or two
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22504367/boston-red-sox-agree-deal-slugger-jd-martinez Seems like a pretty good deal for the Red Sox The article linked doesn't say but on the espn homepage it says it's $110 million over five years with an opt out for Martinez after two years.
I think the umps can still be the final call on a strike/ball, with Statcast or whatever electronic zone is used, all you need is to have the umps ball and strike counter vibrate if it thinks it's a strike and the ump will still have the final call. Even if the electronic call is missed then you still have the ump call it.
From guys that deal with the data, the current system MLB uses is just too slow to accurately spit out balls/strikes near instantaneously. If there is a 2-3 second lag, you are talking about 10-15 additional minutes a game. I suspect there will always be a regular ump as a final measure, but he's only going to make easy calls. Manfred would let Pete Rose back into baseball before he adds 15 minutes to games.
With JD Martinez inking a deal with BOS, it'll be interesting to see how the rest of the class plays out. Which players are willing to wait until the season starts?
So who had Alex Bregman as the player coming into Spring Training in the best shape of his life? https://theathletic.com/246559/2018...lt-more-energized-than-he-does-entering-2018/
Arrieta is the last of the difference makers left. Once he signs, I'd expect a windfall of B-list players to start signing. That's perhaps where we could get involved, if there's a really good deal to be had.
They did a real sports segment on it last year with Eric Byrnes. I would be interested to see what a player poll regarding this issue would reveal. He made it sound like the overwhelming majority of players would favor it.
You're not thinking this all the way through. The catcher won't have to wait there with ball in hand until the pitch is called a ball or strike. It will actually speed the game up due to no need to frame the ball at all and hold it there for a second. Catch ball, throw it back and get the call while ball is on way back to mound.
