The Baseball Ump Who Is Always Right

Baseball umpires are still in business, despite a small effort to computerize them. 

The  so-called "Robo Ump"  made an appearance at a California independent baseball league July 28 and 29, 2015.  The system of three cameras placed strategically on the field and microcomputers in a nearby van is made by Sportvision.

It was the voice of former major leaguer Eric Byrnes over the public address system that signaled to pitchers whether they had thrown a ball or strike. Byrnes watched the computer track the pitch and then light up either inside or outside of the strike zone. Days after he is still tweeting about it.

Starting pitcher Patrick Conroy was part of the "experiment" at the San Rafael Pacifics stadium.. He’s a former Kansas City Royals minor leaguer who is now playing for the Pacifics where the computer was tested over the course of two games. San Rafael is an independent team, not affiliated with any Major League Baseball franchise. 

The cameras track the ball 40 to 50 times after it leaves the pitcher’s hand.  Normally pitcher Conroy is used to getting the strike call when the ball is just outside, but last week said he didn'?t get any pitch called a strike that wasn’t.

"I think there is an unwritten rule in baseball when you split your catcher’s knee right to the mitt that’s a little bit off the plate that it’s a strike and I wasn’t getting that necessarily with the computer, but if anything, that'?s how the game should be played," Conroy said. "The ball needs to go over the plate.?"

To see how it works click here.

Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell would have liked to have been there to see the Robo ump. He told Fox Sports Now that "the technology is available to do something like that, and he’s sure the accuracy will be brought into question, it’s fascinating, it’s something that kind of makes your head spin."

According to Reds announcer Marty Brennaman, Cincinnati manager Bryan Price thinks the computerized calling of balls and strikes could catch on.

Brennaman says nothing surprises him anymore.

"I think it’s an interesting concept," Brennaman said. "I don’t believe it will have any hold whatsoever down the road as far as Major League Baseball is concerned or if it does it’s going to be a long, long time. Rob Manfred, the commissioner, apparently addressed it and all indications from him was this is not something that baseball at this time would ever seriously consider.?"

Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told the Associated Press he has a hard time seeing this ever happening, but says it’ll give somebody a wild idea, though he guesses nobody ever figured they’d see replay.

In the San Rafael Pacifics game, there was an umpire behind the plate calling swinging strikes, foul balls and plays at the plate. Conroy sees the computer changing the game if it continues to be used.

"The hitter’s going to go up there knowing they are not going to get a bad strike called on them and the pitcher, same thing, they are going to know the zone everyday and going to practice pitching to the exact zone every single day," Conroy said. 

There are no immediate plans to use the robo umpire again in San Rafael after the two day experiment.

This story originally aired August 3, 2015.