07-30-2003, 01:44 AM
hey.. i think questec in and of itself is a good idea. i think the more important thing is to get the call correctly than to coddle the umpires. i am usually a big baseball traditionalist and dont usually approve of widespread changes. i think the system in theory has a lot of merit. i think there are a few problems with it. 1) the system isnt accurate 2) the strike zone varies in each stadium based on the operator of the thing. the only qualification to man the machine is that you graduated high school and that you live within 50 or so miles from the stadium i.e. you could have a total zero deciding each players strike zone. i think in order for the system to work youd need a system that detects a players height and can asertain their strike zone. can that be done? i dont know, but in the age of cell phones being the size of a roll of pennies i dont doubt it can be done. once its done i think the umpires union would still have a HUGE fit. i dont think that this would replace the umpires for everything, as the machine cant detect balks, etc like someone already mentioned. i think that the umpire is an integral part of the game and that in the field you can still have them around doing everything they do now. would it revolutionize the game and throw away one of the main aspects of the game? yeah. as i type this im not sure whether i like the idea of having a machine calling balls and strikes but i think the system can be valuable in terms of assisting the play (e.g. instant replay). also, i dont think youll find questec machines keeling over from a heart attack in mid july :lol:
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