Upgrading Umpires

You’re on the edge of your seat at home, watching the 3rd game of the World Series. The players are tense and nervous, since there’s a lot riding on this game. At times, you wonder if you’re more nervous than the players!

Here’s the windup, and here’s the pitch: STEEEEE-RIKE!

But everyone at home also saw that same pitch, and then video analysis clearly showed that it was a ball.

The roar of the crowd is deafening, but on couches around the world, fans are yelling for a different reason. They're armed with high-definition replays, showing the pitch from every possible angle.

The undeniable reality is that the ball never crossed the plate.

The digital strike zone, now a mainstay of modern broadcasts, illuminates the error in glaring neon. A pivotal moment in the most significant series of the baseball season, potentially altered by human error.

I’ve pondered the intersection of technology and sports for a long time, and so I was excited when I found a compelling article discussing this c…