Are you for or against QuesTech?

[KolbSaves]

subject to the caprices of maverick umpires

is that a straw man or an ad hominem attack? I can't tell

I understand what this guy sees as the ideal use of such a system, but the results have been those that I outlined above.

I doubt we'll agree, and I know that baseball fans and management seem to be split on it. The players and umpires aren't.

[fishingmn]

The players and umpires aren't.

No - "pitchers" and umpires aren't.

Umpires don't want to be held accountable - well - that's not surprising is it.

Pitchers want to give umpires the ability to call balls strikes - that's not surprising either.

I'm guessing hitters would welcome a consistant strike zone that's called by the book.

[frog99]

either use it in all the parks or don't use it in any!

[KolbSaves]

The players and umpires aren't.

No - "pitchers" and umpires aren't.

Umpires don't want to be held accountable - well - that's not surprising is it.

Pitchers want to give umpires the ability to call balls strikes - that's not surprising either.

I'm guessing hitters would welcome a consistant strike zone that's called by the book.

Umpires already are accountable, check my post a while back.

[joeyaaaa]

I am against Questech. Professional sports is allowing technology to rule sports and the almighty dollar is at the root of it. Instant replay and Questech are bring the umpiring of games to their knees. With Questech in particular Umpires are changing what they call overtime...

[Art Vandelay]

I am definitely in the anti-QuesTech camp. Why is there such a desire for everything to be uniform and perfect? And why stop at the strike zone? Shouldn't all dimensions and materials be uniform at major leage parks? Every park will be 330' down the lines, 370' in the alleys, and 415' to center with no odd angles in the outfield and only 8' high green, padded walls. No more brick or chain link, definitely nothing ridiculous like ivy or the Green Monster.

[swyck]

the problem with questec is that there is still the little geek behind the monitor that needs to set the batter's strike zone, after all, strike zones vary from hitter to hitter and the machine can't really tell where the knees start and the letters end.

Maybe they could measure the players you think?

I can't believe so many people are against it. Bad calls should be part of the game?

[tinfoilxtouch]

The people who are against this confuse me so much, I have to assume they either haven't thought about what they are saying, or they have personal bias, such as experience as an ump. I would venture a guess not many people in any field would enjoy losing their job to a machine.

At any rate, if you are saying the human aspect is a "part of the game"... you're basically saying you enjoy watching a game more because you see a few wrong calls? Why would it be awful if only pitches over the plate got called as strikes? You actually like seeing a guy walk in the bottom of the 9th on a pitch fully over the plate, just because the ump changes his zone per sitaution?

This would NOT lead to higher scores in my view. People claiming it would make pitchers scared of the corners aren't considering all the 0-2 strikes that get called balls, or that many umps have a smaller zone than the rules call for. It would even out over time.

[Bloody Sox]

They make up rules? Such as what?

They make up rules like "the strike zone goes from the waist to 4 inches above the knees" - not from the letters to the knees as they should.

I like Questech being used as an evaluation mechanism to grade and teach umpires. If an umpire is consistently calling strikes that are a foot out of the strike zone, he should be called on it and forced to fix it. Also, if an umpire has a very inconsistent strike zone where a pitch that is just outside the zone is a strike sometimes and a ball other times, based on the pitcher/hitter, he should be called on it too and forced to fix it. I'd never agree that Questech should be used during the course of an actual game, as there are many nuances that a machine will never consider.

[Bloody Sox]

I am definitely in the anti-QuesTech camp. Why is there such a desire for everything to be uniform and perfect? And why stop at the strike zone? Shouldn't all dimensions and materials be uniform at major leage parks? Every park will be 330' down the lines, 370' in the alleys, and 415' to center with no odd angles in the outfield and only 8' high green, padded walls. No more brick or chain link, definitely nothing ridiculous like ivy or the Green Monster.

Are you really suggesting that the players should be forced to GUESS what the definition of a strike is and isn't every time they step into the box/mound? That's insane. There is not a desire for everything to be perfect and uniform, you just want people to know what the rules are.

The comparison to parks being uniform makes no sense - when a player goes to Fenway or Coors or wherever, every player in the game knows EXACTLY what the dimensions are. If every umpire is free to make up his own strike zone, its a big mystery to everyone.

By your logic, an umpire could call strikes that are 5 feet out of the strike zone or that hit the dirt before the plate. What's the difference?