Please wake up, MLB, before it’s too late.
April 12, 2024: Wyatt Langford stood in the box with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth against the Houston Astros. Big deal? Yes! It’s a memorable at-bat because Langford was called out on strikes … despite none of the pitches being in the strike zone. The outcome has increased calls for MLB to adopt robot umpires to call games.
Fans, players, and owners despise inconsistent calls, but do they want robotic umps? Even if some do, I believe using technology to call games would be MLB’s worst decision, at least in recent memory. Here’s why.
Umpires can be downright horrible, including costing teams runs and even games. But that’s the beauty of competition. The human element is often overlooked when discussing what makes sports so amazing. Nobody is perfect, and luck can sometimes determine sporting outcomes. So, it would be a shame if MLB removed human judgment from the game.
For one thing, there would be less intrigue, and here’s an example. On June 2, 2010, Detroit’s Armando Galarraga should have been credited with pitching a perfect game. “Should have” are the keywords because Jim Joyce missed a call, ruling that the Indians’ Jason Donald–the 26th batter Galarraga faced–was out at the first base when a replay showed Donald was clearly out. Without instant replay in the game at that time (it was introduced in 2014), the record shows that Galarraga pitched a one-hitter and not a perfect game.
The interesting thing is that fans and analysts still talk about the Galarraga-Joyce game much more than they talk about the perfect game that Dallas Braden threw a month earlier. Only die-hard MLB fans can tell you who Braden played for (Oakland) and who was the victim of his perfection (Tampa Bay). Moreover, rather than fading into history, the names of an average pitcher (Gallarraga, 26-34 career) and an otherwise under-the-radar umpire (Joyce) have continuing relevance.
MLB will lose if robot umpires replace human umpires. Arguments will be a thing of the past, and what MBL needs is controversy, not perfection. When fans get exercised about a blown play, like Jim Joyce’s blown call, that helps spread MLB’s popularity. Let’s face it: MLB has fallen behind the NBA, NFL, and major college sports. What it can’t afford is to do itself in.
Robot umps will also change the character of the game. Consider how catchers play a critical role in how they frame the plate. How many strikes have been called over the years–not because they are strikes, but by how catchers frame the plate? Take that away? Holy Yogi Berra!
There is obviously tons more discussion to be had within the MLB and among fans about robotic umpiring, but I don’t like the trend, which seems to be heading in the wrong direction. I hope this article will push the conversation in the opposite direction.
So, yes, I want another decade of Angel Hernandez, who is considered MLB’s worst umpire ever. Rather than a villain in this story, I see Hernandez as MLB’s secret weapon to its future success.
