Should balls and strikes be called electronically?

[ethan]

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Don't think so. This could be done essentially in real time, and the costs shouldn't be too bad.

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It could not be done in real time. It could be done kind of quickly maybe, but not real time. Also, those HD cameras they use to shoot sporting events cost $15k/camera. You would a minimum of 3 cameras to pull this off correctly.

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This can be done in (what would look like) realtime and without too much difficulty. 30fps would give you enough precision to be better than the current system, and it's not going to be prohibitively expensive to go well above that for camera speed.

As far as defining the height of the strike zone for each batter - it's easy enough to do the posture/feature recognition and pick out shoulders/waist/knees. You could do this when the pitcher releases the ball, when the ball crosses the plane at the front of the plate, or any other point. (I don't know what the rules would dictate here.)

[RedRover]

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The question isn't really "*how* should we do it".

It's "assuming an accurate and fast method can be developed, should we implement it." I think the obvious answer is why on earth wouldn't we.

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Seriously. Almost no one in this thread knows enough about the technical aspects of implementing this to say whether or not it's feasible. Arguing about that part of it is so dumb.

And it would be much more feasible than many here think. Just because the HP Laptop sitting next to you can't do it or you can't imagine the technology to do it doesn't mean it can't be done. There's so much specialized computer equipment that you have no clue about if you don't work with it.

/end rant from someone with a degree in computer vision

[ArcticKnight]

I remember when I was playing mixed slow pitch a few years back, they experimented with a mat that represented the strike zone. If the ball hit the mat behind home plate it was a strike.

I also rememeber how it sucked. First, when a slowpitch pitcher was having trouble, nobody would swing. They would just let him/her lob ball after ball until the walks piled up.

Second, some pitchers were throwing these really high arcing ball that were basically unhittable, and they would fall out of the sky for strikes.

I'm just one voice but for me even if MLB could do it with absolute precision, I wouldn't want to see it happen. Old school, I guess.

[Dudd]

Anyone in a slow pitch softball league who tries to draw a walk should be be immediately kicked out of the league, mat or no mat. Unless 3 pitches bounce to you or are way inside/outside, swing.

[vhawk01]

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I remember when I was playing mixed slow pitch a few years back, they experimented with a mat that represented the strike zone. If the ball hit the mat behind home plate it was a strike.

I also rememeber how it sucked. First, when a slowpitch pitcher was having trouble, nobody would swing. They would just let him/her lob ball after ball until the walks piled up.

Second, some pitchers were throwing these really high arcing ball that were basically unhittable, and they would fall out of the sky for strikes.

I'm just one voice but for me even if MLB could do it with absolute precision, I wouldn't want to see it happen. Old school, I guess.

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In this example, the mat = sucky umpires.

[MicroBob]

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some pitchers were throwing these really high arcing ball that were basically unhittable, and they would fall out of the sky for strikes.

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isn't this a ridiculously obvious consequence of putting a mat behind the plate and calling it the strike-zone?
This is immediately what I thought would happen before I even read your part about how it actually was happening.

This must have been the stupidest league ever.

[vhawk01]

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some pitchers were throwing these really high arcing ball that were basically unhittable, and they would fall out of the sky for strikes.

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isn't this a ridiculously obvious consequence of putting a mat behind the plate and calling it the strike-zone?
This is immediately what I thought would happen before I even read your part about how it actually was happening.

This must have been the stupidest league ever.

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Well, it was apparently full of winners who were trying to squeeze out walks and bump up that OBP so yeah, it sounds like a barrel of monkeys.

[kidcolin]

my college intramural league had the mat. I'd say I didn't play on principal, but it was more the 10am game times on the weekend. f that noise, bro.

[DCJ311]

I'm shocked at how lightly the umpires have gotten off on this year's post-season. So many of the umps back there have been HORRIBLE at best. I used to bitch about Greg Maddux getting a few extra inches on the corners sometimes, but tonight the ump's head was about to explode trying to figure out Tim Wakefield's strike zone. Even the mild-mannered Kenny Lofton yelled at him! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

The game before was even worse. It has a HUGE effect on the game when players don't know what the strike zone is, since they start swinging at balls that aren't normally called strikes, and suddenly you start to see a sloppy game.

I am a purist and like to see actions with complete information rewarded properly. Why not take advantage of the impartial, superior technology we have available?

Also, with the scandal we saw in the NBA this season, it can't hurt to have a judge behind the plate that absolutely cannot be bribed into swaying the outcome of the game one way or the other.

[Boris]

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30fps would give you enough precision to be better than the current system...


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No.