The human element

Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus makes the argument for using pitchFX (or some other computer) instead of a human for calling balls and strikes. There is no debate about what constitutes the strike zone. There’s nothing subjective about it. So why do we put up with variations?

(And after watching Joe Mauer get robbed last night in the 11th inning by some blind ump in left field, I might suggest some kind of robot umpire down the lines, too.)

“If a breaking ball crosses the plate at a point between a batter’s knees and the midpoint between his shoulders and pants, it’s a strike, no matter what the anachronism behind the plate thinks he sees. In eighteendicketysix, a human being was state-of-the-art technology for making these decisions. Now, you can get better information — we do get better information — by using better technology. Championships should be decided by the players and by what actually happened, not by what somebody thinks happened.”

Amen, brother. Amen.

[Baseball Prospectus - The Human Element]