Is it just me, or as each day passes, it feels like we are getting closer to the future Pixar predicted in Wall-E? The planet is dying, food is more processed than ever and robots are taking over baseball.
I quite literally yelled at my phone when I saw on Twitter that the MLB was implementing robotic umpires in 2024. The system is called ABSS, which stands for Automatic Ball-Strike System. It’s a computer program that can identify the strike zone and accurately call balls and strikes on players instantaneously. Of course, that sounds cool, but to a real baseball fan, it’s worrisome for a few reasons.
I sent a message to my fantasy baseball league’s group chat to get their thoughts. We were all on the same page on how much we despised the idea, but it wasn’t until they brought up one name in particular that I knew the MLB might have a case for “Robo Umps.” And the name was Angel Hernandez.
For anyone who isn’t into the deep lore of major league baseball, Angel Hernandez is an absolute nightmare of an umpire. He is notorious for being the worst umpire in baseball. But before I get into his atrocious calls, let me break down what the strike zone is, what a strike is and what a ball is.
The strike zone in major league baseball is an imaginary square over home plate from the midpoint between a batter’s shoulders and the top of the uniform pants— when the batter is in his stance and prepared to swing at a pitched ball— and a point just below the kneecap. A strike is any pitch thrown inside that box that the batter doesn’t hit or swing at. A ball is any pitch thrown outside the box that the batter doesn’t hit. That’s why strikes count against the batter while balls count against the pitcher. Now that we have passed Baseball 101, let’s talk about Angel Hernandez and why “Robo Umps” might not be such a terrible idea (at first).
Angel Hernandez terrifies me. I don’t think he experiences the same reality the rest of the world does because he will confidently call a pitch thrown dead center in the strike zone a ball. Hernandez is so subpar that the MLB pulled him from the 2018 World Series. Or, honestly, scroll through @UmpScoreCards on Twitter, and you’ll see exactly why MLB thought they’d found a solution in robotic umpires.
I’m aware that I’ve made an open-shut case for the ABSS. However, the thought of robotic umps puts a rancid taste in my mouth. Although baseball fans unanimously hate bad umpires, they represent the heart of the sport. Baseball is imperfect and spontaneous. Umpires can sway games, regardless of the players’ actual performance. Is this too much power? Maybe. But does it make for a rollercoaster ride of a game? Yes.
MLB has been trying to figure out ways to detach itself from the reputation of being an “old white man’s sport.” However, they don’t realize that implementing this technology may hurt their cause. They’ve already begun integrating the pitch clock into all games. Now, pitchers have to throw the ball within 15-20 seconds. As a result, games have gotten much shorter but much messier (and not in a good way). Teams are losing games due to pitch clock violations, and pitchers have less time to throw accurate pitches. But also, baseball has lost a little bit of its drama. So many big moments, the most intense ones, are defined by the tension created when the pitcher takes his time. And the same goes for the calls umpires make.
I think the MLB is missing the point with what they are doing. Rather than sterilizing the sport, MLB should uplift younger creators making content around baseball. If they give the younger, more relatable people a platform, then a younger demographic will gravitate toward the sport. Baseball has the aesthetic, drama and relatable players — all key ingredients to entertainment that Gen Z would eat up. And it’s apparent that robotic umpires are the dystopian, millennial gray answer to the problem.
