So I missed last night's game but apparently it was a nail biter with the game essentially being decided by a ball 4 that should have been a strike 3.
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/6/1/18648351/cubs-cardinals-recap-yu-darvish-dillon-maples-mlb-scores
I've gone back and forth in my mind about whether to have robot umps. "To err is to be human" and baseball is a human game. Part of my memories of baseball involve manager blowups by Billy Martin and one of my favorite baseball books of all time is "The Umpire Strikes Back" by Ron Luciano. To me umpires being human is part of the game.
However, I can't help but think that baseball has turned a corner when it instituted instant replay (although there is nothing "instant" about it). By putting that system in, baseball is essentially saying that the calls that umpires miss/blow can be reviewed instead of discussed tirelessly in bars and home like they used to be in the past.
If the public accepts instant replay as a valid part of baseball then there has to be robot umps because if the emphasis is solely on getting the call right (rather than whatever benefits a human ump might bring to the game) then robot umps are an imperative.
Since the public seems to be calling for robot umps more and more I think it is only a matter of time. Sure the calls will be correct behind the plate but the game will have lost something in the process.
Anyway, the Cubs lost and their RiSP is terrible. Continuing to be its Achilles heel of this year's team.
Cubs Games Watched: 9.5
Cubs Games Listened To: 34
Gave Up: 11.5
No comments:
Post a Comment