Robot Umps?!

[cp176]

I don't think you would disagree with this, but your associating automated ball/strike calls with the introduction of the 3-pt line in basketball shows that your objection to 'robot umps' has nothing whatsoever to do with technology or 'the human element' in sports. It's all about keeping the game 'the way it was' when we were kids. But alas (or perhaps Thank God!) NOTHING is the way it was when we were kids. Nor is 'the way it was when we were kids' much like 'the way it was when when our parents or grandparents were kids'.

 

 

it is primarily about change i guess. i've been found out. I actually am finding out that the evolution, if that is what is happening, to some of the games I grew up playing tends to make me lose interest quickly. Hey - I'm not a big fan of the spread offense either. Oh well - to my last breath - a pitcher's duel with both going the full 9 and one team winning 1-0. A football game that is won or lost at the line of scrimmage and a basketball team that understands that little people help big people win - the goal for us was always to hold our opponents to 56 points for the full 32 minutes and we would have a chance to win. I sound like lots of fun don't I! lol

[moonslav59]

it's all good and truth be told i don't like many of the recent changes to the game that have been made either.

 

I do think adding gloves and 4 balls and 3 strikes was a good idea.

 

Stadiums with fences to stop the ball from rolling was pretty good, too.

 

The more recent changes are mostly hit or miss to me. I didn't really like the DH, at first, but now I wish the NL would add it.

 

I dislike the shift, but that was used on Ted Williams, so I guess I'm not for changing the rules to prevent that.

 

[cp176]

I do think adding gloves and 4 balls and 3 strikes was a good idea.

 

Stadiums with fences to stop the ball from rolling was pretty good, too.

 

The more recent changes are mostly hit or miss to me. I didn't really like the DH, at first, but now I wish the NL would add it.

 

I dislike the shift, but that was used on Ted Williams, so I guess I'm not for changing the rules to prevent that.

 

 

I have 0 problems with shifts. it is about humans using information to make adjustments. No real problem with the dh either but one way or the other I think that both leagues should do the same thing. Many of the recent changes have been done to keep fans from getting bored. I tend to not like uneducated fans.

[notin]

I have 0 problems with shifts. it is about humans using information to make adjustments. No real problem with the dh either but one way or the other I think that both leagues should do the same thing. Many of the recent changes have been done to keep fans from getting bored. I tend to not like uneducated fans.

 

 

What about teams practicing with bats loaded with sensors to optimize launch angles and maximize exit velocity?

 

It’s not an in-game thing, but it is an instance of technology changing the existing game…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

What about teams practicing with bats loaded with sensors to optimize launch angles and maximize exit velocity?

 

It’s not an in-game thing, but it is an instance of technology changing the existing game…

 

Were those invented by Doug Rader?

 

One change I approve of is growing grass from the home plate area to the mound. I always thought those bare dirt paths up the middle in old timey ballparks were a danger to pitchers because sharp one-hoppers could skip through quicker.

 

Not that it matters in leagues that use metal bats (basically, every level of baseball except the big leagues, summer showcases, and balding/beer-gutted amateurs carrying tradition through the second half-century of our lives). Maybe the best tech for modern pitchers has been the invention of the helicopter, as life-star can fly over traffic and get them to hospitals faster.

[cp176]

What about teams practicing with bats loaded with sensors to optimize launch angles and maximize exit velocity?

 

It’s not an in-game thing, but it is an instance of technology changing the existing game…

 

kind of like the whole launch angle and exit velocity thing i guess that i am just not into. understand that i'm the guy who got fit this summer for golf clubs and it was one of the worst moves that i have made. it's the kiss principle that seems to work best for me see the ball - hit the ball. i find that an overload of information is too much for me to handle.

[notin]

kind of like the whole launch angle and exit velocity thing i guess that i am just not into. understand that i'm the guy who got fit this summer for golf clubs and it was one of the worst moves that i have made. it's the kiss principle that seems to work best for me see the ball - hit the ball. i find that an overload of information is too much for me to handle.

 

 

Launch/angle and exit velocity are things I’m ok with hearing about afterwards, but I don’t like that teams practice optimizing them. It takes away a whole type of hitting. What do you suppose the average “launch angle” for Rod Carew was? 0 degrees?

[jad]

My feeling is that baseball is just a sport , a game , a diversion , entertainment. A little controversy, a bad strike call , " kill the ump " , an Earl Weaver rant , etc. are all part of the fun. Sometimes, we remember them more than the game itself. There is no real urgency to get everything right. Folks take things too seriously. Personally, I don't care about robot umps . Having them will not ruin the game for me. But I would just as soon keep the robots out of baseball. They are not needed.

 

Yeah, we get that. To you, yelling death threats is 'part of the fun'. Not to us.

[jad]

it is primarily about change i guess. i've been found out. I actually am finding out that the evolution, if that is what is happening, to some of the games I grew up playing tends to make me lose interest quickly. Hey - I'm not a big fan of the spread offense either. Oh well - to my last breath - a pitcher's duel with both going the full 9 and one team winning 1-0. A football game that is won or lost at the line of scrimmage and a basketball team that understands that little people help big people win - the goal for us was always to hold our opponents to 56 points for the full 32 minutes and we would have a chance to win. I sound like lots of fun don't I! lol

 

I hear you. I grew up watching Jim Brown (when I could, which wasn't often). And thus, yes, I love watching the run game.

I didn't watch a lot of basketball, which is probably why I find the athleticism of the modern game (not the 3-pt shot!) awesome! No desire to go back to the days of Jim Luskatov.

[mvp 78]

Were those invented by Doug Rader?

 

No, Dennis.

[mvp 78]

I do think adding gloves and 4 balls and 3 strikes was a good idea.

 

Stadiums with fences to stop the ball from rolling was pretty good, too.

 

The more recent changes are mostly hit or miss to me. I didn't really like the DH, at first, but now I wish the NL would add it.

 

I dislike the shift, but that was used on Ted Williams, so I guess I'm not for changing the rules to prevent that.

 

 

@baseballhall

“This glove business has gone a little too far. True, hot-hit balls do sting a little at the opening of the season, but after you get used to it there is no trouble on that score.” – Hall of Famer Bid McPhee, who was born #OTD in 1859 and rarely wore a glove.

[moonslav59]

@baseballhall

“This glove business has gone a little too far. True, hot-hit balls do sting a little at the opening of the season, but after you get used to it there is no trouble on that score.” – Hall of Famer Bid McPhee, who was born #OTD in 1859 and rarely wore a glove.

 

I'm sure there were a lot of fans not happy with "the direction of baseball" back in those days, too.

[mvp 78]

I'm sure there were a lot of fans not happy with "the direction of baseball" back in those days, too.

 

They like to call it the "dead ball" era, but that was the "real ball" era to me. When men were men and pitchers would throw 500 innings.

[moonslav59]

They like to call it the "dead ball" era, but that was the "real ball" era to me. When men were men and pitchers would throw 500 innings.

 

Nostalgia for times before our birth usually puzzles me.

[notin]

@baseballhall

“This glove business has gone a little too far. True, hot-hit balls do sting a little at the opening of the season, but after you get used to it there is no trouble on that score.” – Hall of Famer Bid McPhee, who was born #OTD in 1859 and rarely wore a glove.

 

Ah, Bid McPhee. Passed away 80 years ago and still tweeting...

[notin]

They like to call it the "dead ball" era, but that was the "real ball" era to me. When men were men and pitchers would throw 500 innings.

 

Nearly all pitchers who threw that many IP threw underhand (up until 1884). The purpose of the pitcher back then was to start the play, not get hitters out. In the Dead Ball Era (1900-1919), only a handful of pitchers topped 400 IP...

[moonslav59]

Nearly all pitchers who threw that many IP threw underhand (up until 1884). The purpose of the pitcher back then was to start the play, not get hitters out. In the Dead Ball Era (1900-1919), only a handful of pitchers topped 400 IP...

 

True, but in those 20 seasons, pitchers had over 350 IP fifty times.

 

Over 300 IP 228 times.

 

Over 280 IP 377 times!

 

Over 220 IP 860 times!

[Bellhorn04]

In 1972 Wilbur Wood pitched 376.2 innings.

[notin]

In 1972 Wilbur Wood pitched 376.2 innings.

 

In 1973 and 1974, Nolan Ryan combined for over 650 innings and over 700 strikeouts and didn't throw any knuckleballs...

[jad]

Nostalgia for times before our birth usually puzzles me.

 

Most nostalgia involves utopias that didn't exist anyway. (Like that of the South for ante-bellum 'culture'; or ourselves for the 'glories' of our often-pathetic youth!)

[Bellhorn04]

In 1973 and 1974, Nolan Ryan combined for over 650 innings and over 700 strikeouts and didn't throw any knuckleballs...

 

A certified physical freak for sure.

[notin]

A certified physical freak for sure.

 

An obvious Spider Tacker...

[moonslav59]

In 1972 Wilbur Wood pitched 376.2 innings.

 

736 from '72-'73 (97 starts!)

[moonslav59]

In 1973 and 1974, Nolan Ryan combined for over 650 innings and over 700 strikeouts and didn't throw any knuckleballs...

 

Since I started following baseball closely (1972), Steve Carlton had the most for a non-knuckleballer: 346.1 in 1972.

 

Most by a Red Sox?

 

Luis Tiant 311.1 in '74.

[notin]

Since I started following baseball closely (1972), Steve Carlton had the most for a non-knuckleballer: 346.1 in 1972.

 

Most by a Red Sox?

 

Luis Tiant 311.1 in '74.

 

With all these 300 IP seasons being mentioned on this thread, are people advocating for robot pitchers?

[moonslav59]

With all these 300 IP seasons being mentioned on this thread, are people advocating for robot pitchers?

 

You mean go back to robo pitchers?

[mvp 78]

You mean go back to robo pitchers?

 

Yes.

 

[S5Dewey]

I watched the game Saturday night and it appeared that the yokel behind the plate was a walking commercial for robo-umps. There were numerous pitches high and inside to a right-handed hitter that showed the ball completely inside the "imaginary box" that were called a ball.

 

I can understand an ump occasionally missing a call on a close pitch but this guy had his own strike zone and it didn't coincide with the one in the rule book.

[mvp 78]

I watched the game Saturday night and it appeared that the yokel behind the plate was a walking commercial for robo-umps. There were numerous pitches high and inside to a right-handed hitter that showed the ball completely inside the "imaginary box" that were called a ball.

 

I can understand an ump occasionally missing a call on a close pitch but this guy had his own strike zone and it didn't coincide with the one in the rule book.

 

Dan Bellino had a 90.2 accuracy on Saturday, which was the lowest score since Laz Dias on 10/19.

[moonslav59]

Yes.

 

 

Back to the future.