Dunlap: Bring On The Robots To Umpire
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - Can't believe I'm about to write this.
I thought for sure I would hold out forever, that I would be the very last person in the baseball-watching universe to ever want to see this.
But bring it on. Bring on the robot umpires to at least call balls and strikes.
Man, I can't believe --- as someone who formerly was more steeped in baseball tradition than just about anyone --- that I now lean this way.
It's quite a change, quite an alteration, quite a 180 from where I was not too long ago.
But I'm fed up with these umpires.
I'm fed up with watching incompetent umpires march out there and ruin great baseball games with an inconsistent strike zone. They are either too lazy or not good enough to get it right --- and it wrecks such a grand game; in my eyes the greatest game.
I'm fed up with watching umpires who are unwilling or unable to forget about some silly grudge because the pitcher made a whiny face at them or the batter shook his head in a dismissive way. The umpire then squeezes the pitcher's strike zone or calls anything close on the batter a strike, dependent upon who he is upset at. I'm tired of it. I'm sick of it. It has gone too far. Ump Show!
Ump Show!
Ump Show!
I'm tired of seeing a pitcher work his tail off and throw a borderline pitch that should have been a strike and it gets called a ball. Then, on the very next pitch, predictably, it gets hammered into the gap or over the fence when the inning should have been over.
That is intolerable to me, it is a travesty.
And I don't have the stats in front of me; I'm not a real big sabermetrics guy, but it feels like the umpires are getting balls and strikes wrong at an increasing rate. As someone who watches more than just Pirates games and generally will plunk down and watch a bunch of games in a week, the ineptitude with calling balls and strikes has become glaring as the skill level in baseball and the command of these pitchers seems to be spiking.
Now, admittedly, I am in love with some of the nuances and always will be.
I love that a pitcher who is struggling really needs to "earn" strikes a little more.
I love that a guy with a no-hitter as the game reaches latter stages seems to get a call or two.
I love that a 3-0 pitch --- when a batter is obviously in take mode --- just has to be anywhere close and it is getting called a strike.
I love all that. I love those little tinges that humans standing behind the plate with a chest protector and mask calling the games offer.
But, you know, I'm willing to give all those up. I'm willing to say heck with it, go with the robots; bring on the automation.
For some reason, this season has done it for me. The calling of balls and strikes in Major League Baseball has seemingly been so inconsistent; I'm ready to see a new system put in place.
Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weekdays from 5:40 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.