WebBall.com - Is it time to change umpires?

Is it time to change umpires?

This page came about because of some close plays in the 2007 playoffs, but was triggered by the final Rockies-Padres elimination game 163 that opened the door for the Rockies to qualify for the NLDS. We received comments from a couple of "friends" who got into a heated email exchange on the topic. The big question being, is it time to look at electronic umpires and/or video replay.

Here are the two sides of the argument. You don't have to agree with either opinion - in fact, we want to know what you think. While we originally offered this as a Nose 2 Nose survey, the results were not statistically valid. So we now invite our registered members to simply add their comments below. We start the responses with a long one, from WebBall's own head coach, the always politically correct (uh-huh) Richard Todd.

Yes, it's time for technology....

After 162 regular season games it came down to a one-game playoff between the Rockies and Padres and Colorado was determined to be the winning team on a blown call by the home plate umpire in the 13th inning.

No one's afraid to express the idea that there ought to be an asterisk beside Barry Bonds' record. Well, there ought to be such a note attached to the Rockies tainted win. A walk-off blown call doesn't make the game better.

In 1920, they didn't turn on the lights in the deepening gloom of a late-season game so the players had a better opportunity to "see" the game. There weren't any lights to turn on. But when they did get technological advancement - outdoor lights - everyone seemed to agree it was better. But a dead-man's grip on not making any changes to the Grand Old Game is just stodginess. Why are they wearing batting helmets? Why was the rule changed to outlaw the sharpening of steel spikes so as to better lacerate an otherwise innocent shortstop?

Occasional change needs to be a part of the game. It's dysfunctional to defend bad calls. The "pinkie finger" fantasy notwithstanding, the man missed the plate. And the season was over for the Padres. We can accept a catcher's appeal to the first base umpire on a checked swing because we all know there are times when the umpire closest to the play does not always have the best view of the play. There were twelve video cameras with a better view the other night.

What, I've asked myself, could we do to finally eliminate a situation where an entire season is flushed down the toilet by a two-second lack of clarity? Is this what makes the game great? The fact that in the end, it really doesn't matter what happened? Do we just shrug?

No, let's maintain the traditions...

You just don't get it. The fun and warmth of the game rides on this stuff. Boring, digital coldness I don't need. Technology has taken away my airbrush, my $200 TV and my livelihood to a certain extent. I'll be damed if it's going to take away my passion. I'll take the issue to my grave. I refuse to move on this. I remain steadfast and strong.

San Diego lost that game because Hoffman didn't perform this time. He's the guy, and didn't get it done. Oh wait, maybe we can have a robotic closer and make the sport even colder. Can't wait to watch that come to life.

I am opposed to the idea of taking away the human factor that has made this game so fun. When I watched Billy Martin furiously kicking dirt on the umpire or Jocko Conlin going face to face with Tommy LaSorda it made the game fun to watch. As a manager, I have been burned by bad calls, one that cost my 13 & under team to lose the USSSA World Series in Orlando one year. But, in my opinion, that's part of what makes this game a historical tradition.

It's been fun the way it is for years. My entire life of years. No one has died, no soldiers are suffering, no terroists are attacking the stadiums, kids are not suffering. It's a game for crissakes. Play it, watch it, listen to it, whatever... But leave the rules alone.

All of my baseball friends all feel the same as I. Next thing you know, they'll want to institute a designated hitter in the NL. What a crap decision the AL made with that one.

Reader Commentary: 1 response | WebBall members are invited to comment.

Richard Todd says:
Nov 21, 2007 at 12:57 PM

Having grown up in a National league city (Montreal) I grew up understanding the beauty of the double switch under such masters as Felipe Alou. So as a fan I don't like the DH - it's a cop out. Besides, as I Canadian I am expected now to cheer for Toronto, but I live closer to Seattle, and I have closer ties to players in Colorado and Minnesota. Too many AL cities, I love the national league. But as a higher-age youth coach I admit that the DH does make my life easier. Now to the real important question - electronic umpires and video tape replays. Even if we all thought it was a good idea, it wouldn't work. For several reasons... 1. You know those animations on WebBall? When we're creating them we can zoom around and in and out and over and under and look at each split second of each sequence from any camera angle we want - infinite choices. What we select to build into a movie clip is the one we feel best demonstrates what we are trying to teach. Looked at from a different angle it might show something different. Now imagine that for sliding plays at the plate. Look at the many sequences they show you when TBS does its hi-scan slow-motion stop-action replays. And yet even with those many cameras, it still is not from every angle and some plays are still not certain. You would need way better technology than currently offered - more cameras, more angles. The failed XFL took a first stab at the electronic football field to show plays from many more angles including Matrix-like spin-arounds. It still does not show definitive proof all the time. 2. The technology at home plate for pitches is even more suspect. What we see on TV is a 2 dimensional representation of a 3 dimensional space over 4 dimensions (time). The baseball itself would have to have internal sensors matched to a holographic method of recording data points throughout the 3-D strike zone - allowing for even one stitch of the baseball to cross even one pixel of the space. 3. Even if the technology of camera angles and ball sensors could be solved, we would have to turn pitchers into robots. The most mechanical of pitchers would be rewarded and promoted. And then the most mechanical of hitters would be needed who had been trained not for their baseball instincts but for their spatial recognition instincts - hits wouldn't matter, walks would. Boring. The human element must remain. Here's the thing about pitches - and I get this now more than ever after wading through Perry Husband's books on filthy pitching and effective velocity... pitchers fool batters. In the process they also fool fans and sometimes even umpires. Remember the high percentage of strike outs on pitches outside the strike zone. Deception is the cornerstone of pitching. It's also the cornerstone of baserunning and fielding - Jeter's non-contact swipe tag at second was spotted, but how many times does a SS cross the bag to turn a double play with the foot making no contact - proximity calls are a part of the game. Change that to sensors and the complexion of the play-offs would change more drastically than one iffy call at home plate.