Robot umpires are coming to independent baseball league as testing ground for MLB
Could there come a day when a Royals pitcher throws from a distance farther than 60 feet 6 inches from the batter? And what if an electronic strike zone was used instead of an umpire?
That’s apparently coming to the Atlantic League, according to multiple outlets. Baseball America said “the league and Major League Baseball announced a three-year agreement that will allow MLB to use the independent league as a testbed for rules and equipment changes.”
Those experiments could include a couple of big changes to the game of baseball.
USA Today reported that “though the two leagues did not specify which changes will be tested, they did note that pitch-tracking technology will be installed at Atlantic League ballparks and MLB could use the independent league to experiment with robotic umpires calling balls and strikes.”
Both of those changes have been discussed by Major League Baseball in the past.
Earlier this month, Jayson Stark of The Athletic reported that Major League Baseball and the players’ union have discussed starting a joint committee to study the effects of moving the rubber back from 60 feet 6 inches, which was set as the distance in 1893.
As for the robot umpires, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the technology has improved tremendously.
“The accuracy is way up — way better than what it was a year ago,” Manfred told Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic last year. “The technology continues to move ... and it actually moved a little faster than I might have thought.”
Baseball America reported that MLB will install Trackman radar devices at every Atlantic League stadium. That will allow MLB teams to receive data on each and every pitch and ball put in play at Atlantic League games.
This story was originally published February 27, 2019 at 10:55 AM.
