Connolly: ‘You can’t get mad at TrackMan’: A day under the watchful eye of the RoboUmp
From Dan Connolly at The Athletic on July 12, 2019:
The concept has fascinated for years: a robot umpire.
If the technology is there, why not get rid of the human version of the ball-and-strike arbiter with a computerized system that maintains a consistent strike zone from inning to inning and game to game?
Well, now the technology is here.
On Wednesday evening, in partnership with Major League Baseball, the independent Atlantic League rolled out the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) during its All-Star Game at PeoplesBank Park.
Throughout Wednesday’s game, a 3D-Doppler radar screen attached to the roof of the stadium directly behind home plate registered pitches and sent the information to a laptop computer integrated with TrackMan data. That strike-ball info was then transmitted from the computer in the press box to home-plate umpire Brian deBrauwere, who carried an iPhone with Bluetooth in his pocket and wore an Apple AirPod wireless headphone in his right ear.
Read the full article here (subscription required): https://theathletic.com/1073533/2019/07/12/you-cant-get-mad-at-trackman-a-day-under-the-watchful-eye-of-the-roboump/
Originally published: July 12, 2019. Last Updated: July 12, 2019.