Is It Time For Robot's To Call Balls and Strikes

Beyond the Boxscore poses an interesting argument. They think it's time for the some sort of automative system to call balls and strikes based on a tracking device. Below is a picture of gameday's placement of the pitches during Pat Burrell's at bat in the 5th inning.


BTB goes onto say:

Pitches 6 and 4 were either fouls or swinging strikes with pitch 1 being a favorable called strike. Where did pitches 5 and 9 miss? Well, I don't know, actually. Even the Fox Track thing, which I don't entirely trust, had them within the strike zone. Essentially Kazmir struck Burrell out, twice. Instead Burrell walked, Kazmir was lifted, and Grant Balfour had to work his way out of a jam.

I'm not going to say that if we had robot strike callers last night the outcome would've been different. For one, knowing MLB, the robots would've short circuited in the rain, and two, using results based analysis we know the game is tied. However I question the judgment of anyone who places tradition or anything else over getting calls like these right in every game, and especially in the biggest games.


It hasn't changed the outcome of the series, but when the gold standard of umpires are getting this many calls wrong, it might time to implement instant replay and robots.

Dave Pinto at Baseball Musings:

It strikes me that there should be some electronic way to determine if the ball crossed the plate. Either a transponder or a local GPS system. It would then be up to the umpire to call the ball high or low. That's the tough call, because every batter has a different strike zone based on height and stance. Take away one dimension from the umpire, and you make their job a bit easier.

While I can go back and forth on this one, I firmly believe that with Bud Selig running the show, any implementation of this type of system would be an absolute disgrace. So before they start adding robots into the booth, they should replace him.

MLB Umpires CBA Needs Revisited

I have always respected Ken Rosenthal. He's up in the Buster Olney, Jayson Stark category in my book. One of the best. Actually, I was priviledged enough to shake his hand in a game in Philly this past year. True story, my buddies and I went to a Mets/Phillies game earlier this summer which was broadcast on Fox. During the 9th inning a fight broke out down the first base line between fans - typical stuff really. We were sitting in the left field bleachers and we could clearly see punches being thrown from all the way across the field. The action on the field was delayed and Billy Wagner took a few steps off the mound. The whole stadium was aware of what was happening. The guy doing most of the punches was wearing a Mets jersey was taken away in handcuffs to the approval of the roaring crowd. Upon completion of the game, my 2 buddies and I proceed to exit the stadium and head to our car. I'm wearing a Mets Reyes jersey, my buddy's wearing an Phillies Utley jersey. As we're making our way around the stadium, out from the media entry walks Ken Rosenthal, dragging his little pull behind suitcase. Immediately I say, "Rosenthal!" and he smiles and pulls up to walk beside us. We shake hands and we begin talking. The first words out of his mouth, "That wasn't you down the first base line was it?" Haha... that Rosenthal, always very witty. We shared a laugh and a few stories as we walked. It was a cool moment for a fan. So everytime I see him, I think back to that afternoon.

Last night, Rosenthal shows up again - this time in his black overcoat, protected by his overly large black umbrella, and thick black gloves standing in the dugout. He appeared visibly frustrated as he began talking about how the umpires cannot work back to back World Series and how that is a problem. He continued his rant in an article he wrote last night on Foxsports.com:

"The umpires are less under Selig's control; their collective-bargaining agreement restricts the use of the best umps in the playoffs and World Series. That's right, umpires cannot work in back-to-back postseason series in a single year or in back-to-back World Series.

The latter provision is plainly ridiculous; if the best players can teams can qualify for the World Series two years in a row, why can't the best umpires? When the umpires' CBA expires after next season, Selig should demand a change."

The reason for this, according to Rosenthal, is to promote those umpires that would not otherwise have the opportunity to work in a high profile series. In other words, there's a good chance that the best umpires would be working in the World Series every year which would therefore prevent younger or "not as good" umpires to call games in the Fall Classic. Sounds fair though right?

Hmmm... why does this sounds familiar? Oh yeah! Could this be something along the same lines as this whole "redistribution of wealth" thing?

The proof is in the pudding, and the pudding is the absolute horrible calls during this year's Fall Classic. Let's face it... sometimes what sounds good on paper turns out to be an absolute disaster. Sorry to throw in that little political plug, but think about the brutal calls during this World Series as a potential foreshadowing to what could possibly happen if a certain politician is elected next Tuesday. Rewarding the undeserving sometimes has costly repercussions.

Oh... and Ken, if you're out there... hit me up at rigginsorama@gmail.com.

Weekend Bad Calls

In a weekend with a few bad calls - it seems like the World Series (and more specifically Philadelphia) will lead the way in the bad call department. My eyes can only be on so many games, and by going on a retreat and only being able to watch Penn State / Ohio State saturday night and the Eagles/Falcons game on Sunday followed by the Phils win last night - it seems like I was fortunate to catch the games where the umpires/referees were..... awful!

Starting with the Penn State game - I'm not going to get real picky here, because lets face it, we'd prefer the refs keep their hankies in their pockets most of the time rather than littering the field with yellow. Ohio State fans could argue that this was not an evenly called game - I believe there were only 4 calls the whole game but all of them were called on the Buckeyes. However, if you watched the game, you would have noticed that Ohio State was also repeatedly holding the Penn State's defensive end's. Quite frankly, they had no choice, the Penn State D-ends were much quicker than the OSU offensive line. This game would have not been as close as it was if the refs would have even called just a few of the obvious holding calls. Chris Fowler also mentioned this at halftime. Overall though - I thought the officials did a better job of not being overly picky with their calls.

Next - Game 3 of the World Series. Another game, another bad call. Each team has had to suffer through some bad calls, but in this game it went the Rays way and they capatalized on the opportunity. Down 4-1 in the 7th, and needing something to go their way, Carl Crawford sent a dribbler up the first base line. How any pitcher can make this play, much less, "the ageless one" is beyond a miracle. Moyer slides, scoops, and flips the ball to Howard all in one motion and beats Crawford by a half step! Great play right? Not according to first base umpire Tom Hallion. Safe was the call, Crawford would later score and the next inning we had a tie ball game. Thankfully for Hallion and Philly fans - the Phils would have the last laugh and win on a walk off single. Meanwhile, Moyer and Joe Paterno returned back home about the same time.

Jumping over to the NFL, and again we stay in Philadelphia. In yesterday's Falcons/Eagles game, a great game was interrupted with a couple of questionable calls. The first one was a horrible "lets protect the Quarterbacks" call. According to the reading eagle,

"there was little doubt that the officials erred in flagging Trent Cole for roughing the passer in the first quarter. Cole's raised hand hit Matt Ryan on the passing arm as he drove the rookie quarterback to the ground, and did not touch Ryan's helmet."

The AJC chimes in with this - which was probably the worst call of the weekend:

"The officiating crew took away any chance of a Falcons comeback. They ruled that Adam Jennings muffed a punt that the Eagles recovered with 2:22 left in the game and the Falcons trailing by six points. Replays appeared to show that Jennings did not touch the ball. The call effectively ended the game —- the Eagles scored a touchdown two plays later. The Falcons could not challenge the play because they had no timeouts left."

Lastly, the World Series game 4. It didn't take the umpires long to make their first blunder of this game. This time it happened with the Phils batting in the first. With runners on the corners, 1 out and Ryan Howard at the plate, a ball is hit back to the pitcher who mistakenly doesn't start the double play. Instead, he gets Rollins into a rundown and throws to 3rd to get him out. Rollins slide's into 3rd well after the tag of Longoria, but for some reason is called safe. Wasn't even close. Even the Philly announcers on the radio (who are the biggest homer announcers out there) are questioning the call. It was a brutal start to the game for the Rays. Rollins would eventually score, and momentum was on the Phils side the rest of the night.

To sum it up. Dave Brown @ BLS asks this important question:

"But what's with the amateurish umpiring in the series? Controversies in every game, most of them hurting Tampa Bay, and none of them reviewable by Bud Selig's holy grail, instant replay."

I hate to get into the discussion as much as anybody... but at least 2 of the 4 really bad calls could have been prevented by a quick review. I don't think missed 3rd strikes, a hit batsmen, or did he balk will ever be reviewable - but these close plays at the bases need to be reviewable! Do whatever it takes to get it done Bud!

Runge Suspended 1 Game!

via MLB.com:

Major League Baseball announced today that Umpire Brian Runge has been suspended for one game for his conduct, which included making contact with Manuel, during the incident. Runge's suspension will be served immediately. Mike Port, Vice President of Umpiring for Major League Baseball, made the announcement.

When I watched the incident the other day, I couldn't believe what I saw. However, isn't this hypocrisy. I know MLB umpires are the officials of the game, so shouldn't they be held to a higher standard than managers? If a manager does that - how many games does he get? 5, 10?

1 game seems like a slap on a wrist... really what he did was beyond comprehension.

Any thoughts?

Umpires Announced for All-Star Game

Via MLB.com:

Derryl Cousins, a regular season Crew Chief in his 30th year of Major League service, will serve as Crew Chief and work behind the plate at the 79th All-Star Game, to be played Tuesday, July 15th at Yankee Stadium.

This will be the third All-Star Game assignment for Cousins, who also worked the Midsummer Classic in 1987 and 1998. Cousins has worked five Division Series, five League Championship Series and three World Series. Cousins will be joined by Ed Rapuano (first base), Tom Hallion (second base), Mark Wegner (third base), Greg Gibson (left field) and Phil Cuzzi (right field). This will be the second All-Star Game for Rapuano (1995) and Hallion (1992) and the first Midsummer Classic for Wegner, Gibson and Cuzzi.

Giambi Called Out For Not Swinging

Jason Giambi was called out tonight on a pitch that was high and inside. The ump thought the ball touched the bat and therefore was a foul tip. Since it was a 2-2 count and the catcher caught the ball, strike 3 was called. There was 1 out in the 9th when this happened. The game was tied at 1. The call was an awful call as replays showed the ball never even came close to the bat. Joe Girardi was thrown out arguing. The Yanks would win the game 2 batters later. Mets fans will say that the reason Yankees came back and won was simply because Girardi was ejected. They may have a point. Willie... start arguing!

Video from ESPN.com can be found here

Sunday Night Umps Blow HR Call

The umpires in tonight's Sunday Night game on ESPN have just really blown a home run call that Carlos Delgado hit. Mike Reilly is the 3rd base ump who originally called it a homerun. Replays showed the ball hit the foul pole, but after the umps got together and talked about it, they ruled the ball was foul. Upon further review, the fan that caught the ball showed evidence that the ball was marked with black spots off where it hit the pole. The pole also had a mark on it. I know umpires can't go look at video evidence, but I have a question... can they look at the pole, and ball to see if there are matching marks?

Doug Eddings thinks that David Wells eats to much

After being ejected from the game, David Wells had some interesting things to say about umpire Doug Eddings.

As seen at the fanhouse:

the umpire "rubbed his belly" as if to call Wells "fat."

Said Wells: "I thought (Thompson's) foot was on (the bag). Replay shows it did and that's where the frustration comes out ... I understand they're trying to do their job as well. You get riled up. I got riled up. I said, 'You didn't miss one, you missed two.' Things started heating up and he was over there chirping and chirping and he tossed me out. Then he made a gesture ... that to me is stepping over the line. I take it personally."

"That's false. I would never ..." Eddings told the Associated Press.

First of all, David Wells should expect people to call him fat, secondly... Maybe DW should contact Angel fans and invest in one of these shirts:











photo credits: firedougeddings.com

MLB Honors Froemming

Via mlb.com:

Last night, Bruce Froemming was honored for setting the record for the most consecutive years of service by an active umpire in baseball history.

"I congratulate Bruce on this terrific achievement," said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. "Bruce has not only worked longer than any active umpire in the history of baseball, but has worked with great skill and with great passion. He has had a remarkable career that is appreciated by all of us in baseball."

Bill Klem is the only umpire with more games worked than Froemming. The Hall of Famer was on the field for 5,374 games in his career.

My favorite Bruce Froemming story comes via this interview by Bruce Amspacher with pitcher Milt Pappas, who in 1972 had a perfect game with two outs in the 9th with Froemming behind the plate:

BA: On September 2, 1964 you nearly pitched a no-hitter, taking it into the eighth inning against Minnesota. Eight years later to the day, September 2, 1972 you pitched one of the greatest games in history. What happened in the ninth inning?

Pappas: I was pitching for the Cubs at Wrigley Field against the San Diego Padres. I retired the first 26 batters in the game and I needed one more for a perfect game. There had only been seven perfect games [in the 20th century] up to that time.

Larry Stahl was sent up to pinch-hit and I got two strikes on him immediately. Randy Hundley [the Cubs' catcher] called for a slider. Ball one. Slider. Ball two. Slider. Ball three. Slider. Ball four. Stahl walks and the perfect game is gone.

BA: Were any of the last four pitches strikes?

Pappas: Any one of the four could've been called a strike and the last two were definitely strikes. [Umpire Bruce] Froemming came out to the mound after Stahl walked and I called him every name that I knew in the English language. When I ran out of names in English I started calling him names in Greek.

BA: Weren't you afraid of getting kicked out of the game?

Pappas: There's no way in hell that he was going to kick me out of the game. Not that game. Not if he wanted to get out of Wrigley Field alive. Everybody was too mad at him. The players, the fans -- everyone. So I went back to pitching and got the final out on a pop-up to second base to preserve the no-hitter.

BA: Then what happened?

Pappas: Believe it or not, the next day Froemming comes over to me and asks me to autograph a baseball for him. So I autographed it for him and then made a suggestion as where he might want to put it. He was incredulous. "You're not still angry at me, are you?" he asked.

"You have no idea what you did," I told him. "You blew it! You had a chance to call one of the few perfect games in the history of baseball and you blew it."

"Show me an umpire who ever called a game without making a mistake," he answered.

I couldn't believe he said that! He missed the point.

Then I ran into Larry Stahl. Stahl said that he wanted me to get the perfect game so after he got two strikes on him he decided not to swing anymore. "Why didn't you say something?! Why didn't you back out of the box and give me a wink or something?!" I asked him. I would've been happy to give him a fastball down the middle if I knew that he wasn't going to swing at it.

BruceFroemming.com says this was Froemming's first year and he needed to assert himself as "the boss" and there was no way he was going to let pitches that were clearly strikes get in the way of Froemming's "claim to fame".

In 2001, he was suspended for 10 games for calling an Umpiring Administrator a "stupid Jew B-t-h". I have a feeling he'd get a little more than 10 days if he said that today.

Froemming who was once asked about his eyesight said, "The sun is 93 million miles away, and I can see that." Uh... yeah, so can I Bruce, any my eyesight sucks.

Anyway... from all of us here at AO. We say, "Heckuva career Bruce... at least you didn't toss anyone for laughing at you."