Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post published an article on robot empires in August of this year. The article starts by detailing how a robot empire was used in a Triple-A farm team. Saunders says that the robot umpires were received very well and were very effective in their many months of use. Saunders then shifts his article to how a robot umpire may impact the MLB. He lists some known benefits it would have on the MLB, such as better accuracy, but then goes on to say that not everyone is on board. Saunders states that many players are against robot umpires, as it would take away from the feel of the game.
This article has given me a lot of insight into the topic of robot umpires in the MLB. I have always been intrigued with robot empires, as it seems obvious to me that going digital would be a no-brainer. But the MLB hasn’t done it. Saunders’ article gave me more clarity on the situation, mostly the reasons why a change to robot umpires hasn’t been made. My thesis will remain mostly the same, but I will add more emphasis on players thoughts on the topic, as that seems to be a big part of the issue.
I was unaware that robot umpires are being considered for use in the MLB, so this was very interesting to read. How big is the impact of robotic umpires on the game itself? I think if the impact of is relatively small with just slightly better accuracy, then it might not be worth sacrificing part of the feel of the game, but if it causes a large difference, then the change should really be considered.