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27 Comments
- thegrantman, on 10/19/2009, -0/+25I await the umpire's response to this article.
I hope it's titled: The Umpire Strikes Back. - Blinker1315, on 10/18/2009, -0/+22This post-season has been a disaster for umpires, who are deservedly taking heat. A close second is the bunch of closers (Papelbon, Nathan, Street and Fuentes) who've blown games and have a long winter ahead.
- EMFK, on 10/18/2009, -1/+20MLB needs a thorough overhaul and not just with the umpires.
- WordsnCollision, on 10/18/2009, -0/+18Love the thumbnail.
- mnocket, on 10/18/2009, -1/+18Since the technology exists to have balls and strikes accurately scored by machine, why is this task still left to humans who are prone to error, and even worse, have different interpretations of the strike zone?
- forrestk, on 10/18/2009, -0/+11More technology should be used to verify balls and strikes, and if necessary, the MLB should pull/re-position umpires who miss a certain number of calls in a given game.
- FormerBabby, on 10/18/2009, -2/+9But the mistakes are a part of the game. Last thing I want are challenges on every call. All teams have bad calls go for and against them.
- Rain12913, on 10/19/2009, -1/+5You win.
- crossmr, on 10/19/2009, -0/+4When you digg that many articles, you can't be bothered to check them for quality, accuracy or anything else. the submissions must go on!!
- ScottyAnimal, on 10/19/2009, -3/+7I read this as "Building A Butter Empire"
- Rsulliv1, on 10/19/2009, -0/+3It's like giving Vanna White credit for her role on Wheel of Fortune.
At one point her job was necessary and (probably) difficult.
But now, computers can do both of their jobs faster and more accurately. I don't know why tradition trumps advancement. - verdantx, on 10/19/2009, -0/+3I think there is a fair argument to be made that the calling should be done by machine, but give the umps some credit for doing an incredibly difficult job.
- newerakb, on 10/19/2009, -0/+3That's how I feel as well. The home plate umpire could be replaced by a camera buried just in front of the pitcher's mound. Every other umpire could similarly be replaced by cameras, moving the official up into a video booth for quick replays.
Why even attempt to have humans judge these things when computers and replays can do it so much better. Most of the time a single slow motion replay can tell you the answer so you won't have any game slow-down associated with this method. - blumer, on 10/19/2009, -0/+3Before we do that, can we replace Bud Selig with a robot, please? At least a robot would have half a chance of correctly interpreting a weather forecast ...
- ggnictee, on 10/19/2009, -0/+2Exactly, have you seen the stuff tennis has? Dear MLB: tennis is cooler then you. Think about that.
Forget about strikes/balls: they can use it for everything. Fair/foul. Safe/out. With a little work, some cameras, sensors and a computer we could have a whole new ball game (no pun intended, well maybe) - esteskid, on 10/19/2009, -0/+2They should just use the computer. No more Umpires.
- Rsulliv1, on 10/19/2009, -0/+2It's confusing that during the Cards series, the ump probably was only 25% matching with the pitch-by-pitch strike guide.
I don't know how objective the strike guide was, but why would they have it up there at all if it was inaccurate? They did take it down as the games went on, but it was noticeable that the umps didn't get close to matching the strike guide.
Some of the cards players were pretty pissed when they were called on a strike that the strike guide showed to be two or three ball-lengths out of the strike-zone.
It's a shame they haven't objectified baseball more. - Spoomeister, on 10/19/2009, -0/+2It's rather worth noting that this article was written by Fay Vincent, predecessor to commissioner Bud Selig. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Vincent
- SuperCujo, on 10/19/2009, -0/+1I see the RoboUmp as an ED209 clone :)
- copypastry, on 10/19/2009, -0/+1Join me and together we shall rule the baseball diamond as father and son!
- newerakb, on 10/19/2009, -0/+1^
I had that conversation a few days ago. Was talking about how there's no longer a need for an ump behind home plate, but the tradition and baseball 'purists' would prevent that from ever happening. - painkillr, on 10/19/2009, -0/+1i wish baseball had a real commissioner like fay vincent again. instead of this walking conflict-of-interest ***** bud selig. if i had a single-use time machine to go back in time and kill one person, i would skip hitler and stalin and go right for bud selig before he sold his first used car.
as i'm stabbing him, i'd be shouting "this one is for the lockout; this one is for the wildcard playoff format; this one is for interleague play" etc. ad nauseum - nickem, on 10/19/2009, -0/+1What the umpires really need is licenses and badges and more professional looking uniforms, maybe brass buttons and sergeant stripes.. More regulations and authority. Maybe even tasers for the unruly players. Let them fine the players on the spot, maybe even fire a few. This will give them the respect that they need to keep the players from arguing the calls. We all know that it's disrespectful to tell the guy in charge that he made a mistake. Hey, while we're at ti, make them agents for Homeland Security. /sarcasm
- painkillr, on 10/19/2009, -0/+1you need to STFU and STFD, Bud Selig ruined baseball and did 10x more damage to the game than fay vincent ever did.
- ajwinder, on 10/19/2009, -0/+1First off, given the officiating the last couple weeks in the NFL, that might not be the greatest place to draw comparisons. The fact of the matter is, baseball already has an entirely superior officiating system to football. The umpiring schools, though not directly run by Major League Baseball, are highly selective, and incredibly rigorous. But you know what, it's not even worth it. Fay Vincent was booted from his position after 3 years on the job, he absolutely incensed the ownership while having merely a lackluster relationship with the MLBPA, and he made horrible business decisions on behalf of the MLB. If one person really needs to shut up in regards to baseball, its Fay Vincent.
- Spoomeister, on 10/19/2009, -1/+1One of the local sabrmetrics-heavy blogs here has long advocated for integrating pitch f/x and similar into umpiring. They also suggested that a simple heads-up display or minor cue could be built into the umpire's mask.
http://www.lookoutlanding.com/2009/10/16/1088090/c ...
All that being said - it's overkill, IMO. Accounting for human error is just part of the game. If your team requires one call in order to win a game or a series, they're not a true champion team. Good teams are better than the margin of error. Baseball is a wonderful sport because it a reflection of life, and life is often unfair, with imperfect human beings trying to do the best that that can (which is part of why steroid use struck a nerve).
We don't need to change the rules or turn baseball into football. This year is just particularly bad because a lot of the good umpires are on the disabled list, and the limits on how often umpires can appear in the postseason means you're getting a lot of subpar umpires.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/10221930/Injuri ... - GnomeProfit, on 10/19/2009, -3/+2RoboUmp!
RoboUmp: Strike Three!. Your presence is no longed requested at home plate
Player: What?? That was two feet off the plate. Are you blind??
RoboUmp: If you do not vacate the premise you will be arrested for trespassing on private property.
Player: That's ******n bullsh*t you ***** piece of *****.
RoboUmp: It appears you have an outstanding speeding ticket (/points and ***** shotgun).
You're move creep!
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