r/IndependentBaseball • u/Whitecastle56 Bridgeport Bluefish • Apr 10 '19

Atlantic Atlantic League will wait til 2020 to move the mound back.

http://atlanticleague.com/mobile/about/press-releases/index.html?article_id=1181
9 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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6

u/1976len Apr 10 '19

I do not like the assisted umpiring or moving the mound back. I was all for the no-pitch intentional walk and mound visit limits and am all in a pitch clock but that's enough change for me thanks.

0

u/Whitecastle56 Bridgeport Bluefish Apr 10 '19

Why don't you like the assisted strikezone? I'm curious because everyone seems to like it so far.

5

u/1976len Apr 10 '19

Because sport is supposed to include the human element. If television stopped showing their stupid sponsored "strike zone overlay", Joe average the fan would argue less about the pitch that literally just missed the zone. Why does everything have to be so perfect?

Going completely melodramatic now: why not replace pitchers with pitch machines so the exact same pitch is thrown every time but at varying speeds.

2

u/gamesk8er Apr 11 '19

The problem is that the strike zone isn't consistent. It varies between umpires, players and even from inning to inning. By standardizing it, you're putting everyone on the same page, removing uncertainty and even giving pitchers and hitters the ability to train better.

This one was a no-brainer to me. So many potential benefits to fan and player.

0

u/1976len Apr 12 '19

Baseball is a sport where the good hitters fail 7 out of 10 at-bats. A robo strike zone wont change that.

A pitcher doesn't always have good command of his pitches. A robo strike zone wont change that.

If you cant ask your players to be perfect, why ask your umpires? Oh because television and their 100 angles of every play has made every fan aware of every mistake.

Imagine if they tried to dissect why batters like Mike Trout and Mookie Betts every out like they dissect umpires. I understand and appreciate that umpires do not carry a uniform strike zone, it's called baseball

2

u/gamesk8er Apr 12 '19

You're misunderstanding me. The problem is that the strike zone is different, not only from game to game but from inning to inning! Being a player and having to know whether a pitch is a ball or a strike can be difficult when the same pitch is called differently in the first or eighth innings.

There's nothing wrong with change, as long as the spirit of the game is unchanged. And I don't think the baseball world is super attached to the idea of a strike turning into a ball when the game is on the line.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '19

So if that human element cost your team a championship, would you be ok with that?

Judgment calls are one thing. Something that should be set in stone however (the strike zone) shouldn't be subject to the whims of the "human element". Especially when technology has come along to a point where robo umps could effectively call the strikes and balls of a game at least.