OnlyBucs

210C01101706115152630 wrote: one of my facebook friends who is an ump (at amateur level) posted this:



In the old days they missed tons of pitches, the zone varied greatly from ump to ump...and there was far less bitching about it.

Now the zone is fairly uniform ump to ump, they are held far more accountable than they were 20 years ago


I've always had a problem with that reasoning. The rulebook has always defined the strike zone. Yet inexplicably, we were always force fed the notion that every ump has HIS OWN strike zone. Regardless of the rules. That made no sense. But it served the umps very well to explain every bad call: "He didn't miss the pitch. He called it correctly for HIS strike zone." Now that we see the graphic showing the REAL strike zone, the umps can no longer pretend they are calling a different zone and we see their mistakes. It also doesn't help the umps that pitchers are routinely throwing in the high 90s and that split second they used to have to identify a pitch has been reduced even more. I agree with your friend who said this is as good as a human ump can get. Unfortunately, it's not good enough.




somebody on Bucs Dugout is tracking missed calls and keeping a tally on how many benefit the Bucs and how many hurt them. So far the Bucs are in the negative this year.



I am for electronic calls.



The only doubt I have is whether the graphic truly is the strike zone, if it isn't there must be a way to correct it. I don't know how much it truly adjusts for batting stances of various batters.

133534233525560 wrote: one of my facebook friends who is an ump (at amateur level) posted this:



In the old days they missed tons of pitches, the zone varied greatly from ump to ump...and there was far less bitching about it.

Now the zone is fairly uniform ump to ump, they are held far more accountable than they were 20 years ago


I've always had a problem with that reasoning. The rulebook has always defined the strike zone. Yet inexplicably, we were always force fed the notion that every ump has HIS OWN strike zone. Regardless of the rules. That made no sense. But it served the umps very well to explain every bad call: "He didn't miss the pitch. He called it correctly for HIS strike zone." Now that we see the graphic showing the REAL strike zone, the umps can no longer pretend they are calling a different zone and we see their mistakes. It also doesn't help the umps that pitchers are routinely throwing in the high 90s and that split second they used to have to identify a pitch has been reduced even more. I agree with your friend who said this is as good as a human ump can get. Unfortunately, it's not good enough.




somebody on Bucs Dugout is tracking missed calls and keeping a tally on how many benefit the Bucs and how many hurt them.  So far the Bucs are in the negative this year. 



I am for electronic calls.



The only doubt I have is whether the graphic truly is the strike zone, if it isn't there must be a way to correct it.  I don't know how much it truly adjusts for batting stances of various batters.
I don't think it's 100%. Sometimes I watch a game with the other team's broadcast (sound muted) on the Extra Innings package and the Pirates' broadcast on the computer via MLB.TV. A pitch that barely touches the box on one broadcast might miss it on the other. So MLB would need to find one design and make it uniform for all teams. It would be better than what we're now getting from the umps. And the umps would still be there to signal the ball/strike call, determine foul tips, balks, plays at the plate, etc. He'd just have a piece in his ear to tell him what the pitch was.