Robot Umpires for Minor League Baseball Will Be “Implemented Gradually” This Season
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A lot of jobs are in danger of being lost to automation and computers, and now baseball umpires are being put on notice.
Major League Baseball will be experimenting with radar-tracking technology to call balls and strikes in some portions of the Minor Leagues. There’s no start date, but it’ll be “implemented gradually” over the course of the 2019 season.
For now, the umps will still be in place at the games. They’ll wear earpieces to receive the results of the computer’s call . . . but they will be able to override it. The robot also won’t be able to evaluate check swings.
(We just saw a report about how WRONG umpires can be, although they’re getting better. If Major League Baseball IS interested in pursuing technology to call balls and strikes, umpires’ days are definitely numbered.)
