You know it’s going to be a good podcast when you get Ringolsby vs Randhawa debate and a player guest all in the same show!

I have a few thoughts to add:

I agree with Tracy’s comments about instant replay. It’s great if it corrects obviously erroneous calls (aka, Jim Joyce’s perfect-game ruiner). But replay does not make the game any better if it causes a lengthy delay while the manager decides whether or not to challenge (hello, pace of play?), and then is used to rule a runner out because a glove lace grazed a beard whisker as the runner lost contact with the bag for 1/15th of a second.

Regarding Robo-strikezone, I believe that it will make the game better, and will make the game move quicker (at least a little). What it boils down to, for me, is not an issue of humans versus robots/computers, or old school versus new school, but an issue of fairness and consistency. Balls and strikes are so important to the basic structure of the game, that having a strike zone that varies from umpire to umpire, night to night, hitter to hitter, pitcher to pitcher, is akin to having varying distances between bases or between the pitcher’s mound and homeplate. Neither is fair or consistent. The goal, should always be to get the calls right, regardless of the “how”. If the best way is with technology, great! Or if someone comes up with better training, or special glasses that would allow the umpires to track the pitches more accurately, even better! Then you would preserve the “human element” by still having humans call the games.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy the off-day.