September 24, 2015

Royals Pitcher Chris Young Is Pro-Robots

Kansas City Royals pitcher Chris Young:
The biggest thing I'd like to see is the automatic strike zone. It's the single most important aspect to the game and the most subjective aspect. Umpires do an amazing job, but they're human beings, and there's a margin of error there. To me, that would speed up the game dramatically. Half the time now it's guys stepping out of the box, asking where the call was. It doesn't eliminate the home-plate umpire. You still need him for check swings, plays at the plate. It makes his job easier. And you know what you're going to get. I know when I step off the mound, half the time it's to think, "OK, don't get wrapped up in the call." I gather myself, compose myself. But it takes a minute. We're human beings. We get focused on what we consider a missed call. ...

The NBA rim isn't 10-6 one night and 9-8 the next. It's 10 feet every night. When you step onto the court, you know exactly what you're getting. I think it would speed up the game way more than people expect. Because guys step out. Pitchers want to know where the pitch was. They call the catcher to the mound. All that takes time.

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