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Home plate umpire is too error prone. He does not have a 100% view of the strike zone since he is behind the catcher. I see umps do wrong calls all the time.
With technology it's not necessary to have this ump.
We can create a 3D view of the strike zone using AI and special cameras. And we can get a 100% accurate read every time.
The home plate ump should stay for other reasons, like for runs.
I'm pretty tired of pathetic ball/strikes calls myself. I think they're getting worse.
One small point in the ump's defense (I can't believe I said that) is that the strike zone box superimposed on the TV screen is not totally accurate. This is because it's a strike where the ball crosses the plate, NOT where the catcher catches it. Occasionally the ball DOES cross the plate as a strike but breaks such that it looks like a ball based on the ball/strike TV diagram.
Once in a while they have a view from the umpire's perspective with a camera mounted on his facemask, thus we get to see what he sees. I don't know how they get so many calls right given that a small orb is coming at them roughly at 95MPH. The left-right "over the plate" aspect seems fairly easy but it's the height that troubles me from the 2-dimensional TV view. I'm sure with years of experience that the umps get quite good at it, but yes, I've seen some questionable calls in recent years.
Then there's the issue of what I think is umpire favorability to some pitchers. On many occasions I saw them call a strike for pitches by Yankee great Mariano Rivera that seemed outside of the strike zone. Many of those pitches were questionable but I think Rivera's reputation caused the umps to call many of those as strikes.
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I saw a minor league game last year, back when I have MLB network, around the All-Star Break where they used the Robo Ump technology. You had 3 challenges per game, but if you challenged and got it right you kept your challenge, worked great, and very quick. Like just a few seconds for the challenge.
It's time for this system. There was still an Ump behind home plate, I guess to manage the game, and with the pitch clock today this would be necessary. So they're still there.
Was watching the Cardinals/Marlins series this past week and holy cow, there are so many bad and missed calls. Like balls that are an entire width of the baseball out called strikes.
I think the Umping is getting worse, not better. It's time for a change.
Once in a while they have a view from the umpire's perspective with a camera mounted on his facemask, thus we get to see what he sees. I don't know how they get so many calls right given that a small orb is coming at them roughly at 95MPH. The left-right "over the plate" aspect seems fairly easy but it's the height that troubles me from the 2-dimensional TV view. I'm sure with years of experience that the umps get quite good at it, but yes, I've seen some questionable calls in recent years.
Then there's the issue of what I think is umpire favorability to some pitchers. On many occasions I saw them call a strike for pitches by Yankee great Mariano Rivera that seemed outside of the strike zone. Many of those pitches were questionable but I think Rivera's reputation caused the umps to call many of those as strikes.
I'm a life-long catcher who played small college ball and many years of amateur ball PLUS coached & managed many years of amateur baseball. I've also done a little umpiring. To me the strikezone left to right OR up, no matter what type of pitch is thrown or the speed, is EASY. It baffles me when these so-called professional umpires screw it up so consistently.
As you mentioned, the easiest pitch to screw up is the pitch that is low. It's quite hard to get your field of vision aligned with the pitch to always get that call correct. This is especially true with a 12/6 curveball cutting across the knees and low sliders. A lot of the major league pitchers throw some nasty change-ups that can die at the plate as well which I can see giving umpires problems.
The weird thing is, when umpires screw up, it's not necessarily the low pitches. It's more inside/outside. Once again, this baffles me.
As everyone knows, if you're a pitcher with a reputation, umps like to give you a break that other pitchers would die for. I don't care if it's my team or any team, I hate this. Keep the game pure.
I've been watching MLB games since the 1960s, and that called strike three with a full count on Judge in the 6th inning of last night's (9/3) game between the Astros and the Yankees in Houston was one of the worst ball/strike calls I've ever seen.....and I'm an Astros fan who doesn't like the Yankees.
Last night's game with the Dodgers and Braves, so many strikes were called when they were no where near the box they show on TV. So, however challenges they get were done in the first inning, so after that there's nothing they can do. I thought, why have this "strike zone" we can see on TV, when it's not what the Ump sees, obviously?
Last night's game with the Dodgers and Braves, so many strikes were called when they were no where near the box they show on TV. So, however challenges they get were done in the first inning, so after that there's nothing they can do. I thought, why have this "strike zone" we can see on TV, when it's not what the Ump sees, obviously?
The "strike zone" that they show on TV is problematic for a couple of reasons. First of all, it doesn't actually line up with the actual strike zone for whatever reason. Secondly, while it shows whether or not a pitch has traveled through the "strike zone" at some point on its way to the catcher's mitt, it doesn't clearly show if the ball was in the strike zone as it crossed the plate.
A few weeks ago Marquee Network forgot to put that stupid rectangle on the screen at the start of a Cub game. I didn't realize how much I despised it's presence until I had the opportunity to watch an inning without it for the first time in years.
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