- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,233,386
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - JUNE 27: A general view of an ABS challenge review in the fourth inning during the game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Saturday, June 27, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The thing about technology is that when one entity sees something work well, then everyone wants it.
For a few years Major League Baseball has been experimenting with Automated Balls and Strikes — some call them Robo-umps — to try and figure out a way to create consistency throughout a sport where subjectivity can creep in and an Umpire has the ability to make a point depending on how they feel on a particular day. This experiment started at the Minor League level, where ballparks were equipped to be able to track where exactly the baseball crossed home plate and if it was within the strike zone.
How to implement the system was always a big question. Do you have the system essentially call every ball and strike, or do you still have the human error approach with the occasional challenge by someone? They tried both in the minors and eventually settled on a challenge system. It went well, and this past year it was implemented in the major leagues to nearly universal praise.
Now with fans seeing it successful in both the minor and major leagues, there was a quick call to bring it to the college level. Some schools already have some form of the equipment set up as part of their way to help train their hitters on how to spot a strike. Some reporters have access to this equipment and will be able to tell you in real time if a call was right or wrong according to it. It appears that was enough for the NCAA.
This, of course, opens up a whole can of worms, as baseball was the one sport in which the little guy still had a bit of a fighting chance for a while. See this year’s NCAA Tournament that saw multiple big programs fall by the wayside while schools people didn’t even know existed went into these stadiums and won. Now, it’s likely there’ll be another thing they’ll feel like they have to add to their stadiums in order to compete.
This move is really important for the College World Series. The home of the CWS has Trackman, which ESPN tapped into during the event to provide analytics, meaning that during the sport’s championship there’ll be a way for pitchers and catchers to appeal calls. It won’t completely end situations where coaches and umpires get into it about a call behind the plate because if there’s a limit to the challenges like in the pros, there will be situations where that limit will be hit. Still, in situations where an umpire is wrong, teams will have a chance to fix the error.
This has the chance of deflating the ego of umpires just a little bit when they are proven wrong in real time, as well reinforce good behaviors. It may also decrease the art of “yanking” by catchers where they grab a ball out of the zone and try to pull it in. It’ll become less necessary if a batter feels the call was inaccurate.
We’ll see what the rules will be over its use when the Oversight Committee reviews the proposal, but it looks like there will be another element to watch at Boshamer and other stadiums across the country. Quite frankly, it’s also another opportunity for schools to seek sponsorship for an aspect of the game.
Continue reading...
