Summary: <p>Last week we mentioned the idea of having robotic umpires calling balls and strikes and after eventually understanding what we were talking about, Geoff was on board. I was still on the fence, but one of our listeners had some good thoughts on technology in baseball.</p> <blockquote><p> “What’s wrong with using lasers to to define a strike box? (similar to tennis or volleyball CG replays) Perhaps design a base that responds to pressure or electrical contact with metal cleats (swimming/fencing tech) to ensure his foot his the bag? Hell, what if players had ‘fitbit’ type devices that plugged into their gloves? A pitcher gets accolades for his 106mph fast ball, and a ‘robot’ told us that. I think you have to appreciate perfection in a century old game, and robots provide that opportunity of achievement, whereas umps can only ruin it, like calling a runner safe, when he isn’t.” </p></blockquote> <p>Definitely some fair points there, so I decided to look into it to see if more information would change my mind. My journey started with two days from July last year in the Pacific Association and the San Rafael Pacifics (so clever, right?). The Pacific Association is an independent professional baseball league, so no affiliation with the MLB. On July 31 of last year the Pacifics introduced a new way to call balls and strikes. </p> <h2>The Future of Balls and Strikes</h2> <p>Using a series of cameras, one in centerfield, and two at the corners of the backstop, <a href="http://www.sportvision.com/baseball/pitchfx%C2%AE">Eric Byrne (former major leaguer) and his Pitchf/x</a> called all of the balls and strikes for two games. Byrne touts the technology as being accurate within an inch of the strike zone, whereas current umpires are generally only accurate up to one foot. </p> <div style="width: 1810px;" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <a href="https://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/AP_83210102196.jpg"><img src="https://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/AP_83210102196.jpg" width="1800" height="1200" alt="Eric Byrne called the two games with a mic in hand and his eyes on the screen. " class="size-full"></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Former major league outfielder Eric Byrnes uses a computerized video system to call balls and strikes (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)</p> </div> <p>The use of this technology marked the first game where balls and strikes were called by looking at a computer screen, an idea that has some folks a little nervous. Younger players seemed to appreciate the technology, noting that anything to keep calls consistent was going to be beneficial. More old-school players and managers fear that some of the pageantry of the game might be lost if umpires are completely replaced by this technology. That being said, umpires will most likely never be phased out as someone needs to call runners safe and out.</p> <p>I see a future where the PITCHf/x call is relayed directly to an umpire, whether via an earpiece or some indicator that way the call is still made by the umpire, but he is more of a conduit for the machine. </p> <h2>Technology in Baseball: Older Than You Think</h2> <p>While this way of calling balls and strikes is new, the idea and process behind it is not. In the 1950s, Branch Rickey of the Dodgers worked with some engineers to create a home plate that was wired up with mirrors and photoelectric cells. When the ball would cross the plate in the appropriate strike area, a signal would be sent to a box that contained a majority of the machinery and a little red light would trigger. Due to the photoelectric cells the tech could not be used at night, which meant it was going to be a hard sell. No games were ever called using this machine, but Rickey used it as a training tool. </p> <div style="width: 2058px;" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/05/01/sports/01branch/01branch-superJumbo.jpg"><img src="https://static01.nyt.com/i"></a></div>
