‘You can’t get mad at TrackMan’: A day under the watchful eye of the RoboUmp
Dan Connolly 3h ago
YORK, Pa. – The concept has fascinated for years: a robot umpire.
If the technology is there, why not get rid of the human version of the ball-and-strike arbiter with a computerized system that maintains a consistent strike zone from inning to inning and game to game?
Well, now the technology is here.
On Wednesday evening, in partnership with Major League Baseball, the independent Atlantic League rolled out the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) during its All-Star Game at PeoplesBank Park.
Throughout Wednesday’s game, a 3D-Doppler radar screen attached to the roof of the stadium directly behind home plate registered pitches and sent the information to a laptop computer integrated with TrackMan data. That strike-ball info was then transmitted from the computer in the press box to home-plate umpire Brian deBrauwere, who carried an iPhone with Bluetooth in his pocket and wore an Apple AirPod wireless headphone in his right ear.
After each pitch, he’d hear the ball or strike directive and then make the call on the field, with only a second or two lag in the execution.
For the most part, it worked. But there were some minor glitches – not surprising considering this was the first full implementation of the technology within an entire game.
There was a three-pitch period in which deBrauwere didn’t receive a signal from his phone to the earpiece. Then, in the middle of the game, the system lost connection for a half-inning, requiring deBrauwere to do what he’s done for a decade as a pro umpire. He went old school – like back to last week — and called balls and strikes until he had a break in between innings and the connection could be restored. That took roughly a minute. And it was imperceptible unless you were watching deBrauwere’s every move.
TrackMan data – used in the majors and MLB-affiliated minor-league teams to record information such as launch angle and exit velocity – already was established for a chunk of the Atlantic League All-Stars, since many have been in affiliated pro ball in the past five years. Therefore, their strike zones, based on attributes such as height and stance, were already created in the database. That allowed the system to adjust the chest-to-knees zone for each individual player.
Still, it wasn’t foolproof. One hitter was rung-up on a two-strike fastball that was clearly low, but apparently nicked the bottom of the zone as it headed to the dirt. Those kinds of alterations should get made as all eight Atlantic League parks use the system in the second half of the season.
But on the evening it made its pro debut with significant fanfare, the ABS was fairly seamless. To the point that one pitcher, Southern Maryland’s Daryl Thompson, didn’t realize it was being used until his catcher informed him after he pitched. The only clues, Thompson said sheepishly, were that he once got the ball thrown back to him before deBrauwere raised his hand to indicate a strike. And he also noticed the ump had an AirPod.
“It was crazy because I saw the earpiece in the umpire’s ear, but I didn’t think anything of it when I was out there,” Thompson said.
That’s the hope for this new technology, one that ultimately could be used in affiliated minor-league games and, perhaps, in the majors one day: that no one really notices.
On Wednesday, though, it was
the story. A legitimate curiosity for media, players, fans and staff. [HR][/HR]
Just so damn stupid. Please do not let this become a thing, dear baby Jesus. I will convert my dark soul over to the light if you do me just this one favor.