Chicago Cubs’ Joe Maddon Endorses Automated Strike Zone

Once an opponent of an automated strike zone, Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon favors one now and thinks umpires would be on board also.

In an interview with the New York Post, Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon touched on a number of subjects. Maddon, who was hired by the forward-thinking front office of Theo Epstein, has a coaching philosophy that blends technology and the human element. This year, Maddon has batted the lumbering Kyle Schwarber in the leadoff spott in every game he’s played because of his high on-base percentage, something many managers would not do because Schwarber is not a fast runner and doesn’t steal bases. At the same time, he hands out t-shirts with slogans on them and uses karaoke to bring the team together.

In the New York Post interview, one of the subjects discussed was using technology to call balls and strikes. Maddon acknowledges that he was once against using technology to call balls and strikes but has changed his mind. He also believes umpires would be on board, saying,

"“I even think umpires would be fine with it, too. Because I don’t think there’s an umpire out there that wants to negatively impact the game with a bad call.”"

It’s an interesting thought. I’m not convinced that umpires would gladly yield balls and strikes calls to automation, but I believe the time is approaching that they won’t have any choice. With baseball having embraced instant replay in an effort to get as many calls correct as possible in other areas of the game, using technology to call balls and strikes is the next step. Sportswriter Joe Posnanski put a poll up on Twitter asking voters what they would do if they were baseball commissioner for a year. The highest percentage went to “Robo Umps.”

There will be plenty of dissenters, of course. Change is difficult for people. Current players and fans grew up with umpires calling balls and strikes and there’s definitely an element of, “This is the way it’s always been and this is the way it should be” that exists. They’ll argue that it takes the “human element” out of the game.

Ultimately, though, I believe the time will come when we have an automated strike zone. To keep the look of the game the same, umpires could still be in their familiar position behind home plate making the gesture for a strike after the pitch comes in. It doesn’t have to look any different than it does now. The umpire could wear an earpiece that signals whether the pitch is a strike and make the call.

For those who are adamantly opposed to an automated strike zone, I suggest a thought experiment. Imagine an alternate reality in which you grew up with an automated strike zone. There was still an umpire behind the plate, but the balls and strikes were called using technology. The strike zone was defined and consistent, not dependent on the whims of a human being. You wouldn’t have the atrocity of the Eric Gregg strike zone in the 1997 NLCS.

If you had grown up watching MLB games with automated ball and strikes, would you be demanding the technology be eliminated so humans can call balls and strikes? Would you want to introduce the meandering strike zone that depends on the umpire on that particular day? I can’t imagine having an automated strike zone in place and wanting to eliminate it. With that in mind, I would embrace it.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is slowly coming around on the idea. At the 2015 All-Star Game, he was against the automated strike zone because of doubts on how the technology would handle each hitter’s individual strike zone. Last October, he still wasn’t totally on board, but he felt the technology was improving. He told USA Today,

"“As technology continues to improve and those sorts of adjustments can be made (in) real time, that technology will become more feasible for use on the field. I don’t believe we are there yet.”"

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Ryan Zander, the general manager of baseball products for Sportsvision, believes an automated strike zone could be used now. Sportsvision is the company responsible for the pitch tracking system called PITCHf/x. The Sportsvision technology uses the center field camera, guidelines set by the MLB umpiring department, and a database for MLB hitters to set each hitter’s strike zone. It is also constantly readjusting the strike zone as needed. Manfred isn’t convinced it’s feasible yet, but an automated strike zone is coming.