Suzuki on umpires

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I found the following an interesting part of Bernadinos talk with Suzuki on pitch framing. I think his observations are mostly spot on. His views on how strikes should or should not be called, and on who to call them on are interesting. While in theory calling a strike zone using these parameters is unfair, it always was done that way. Having umpired myself for some years, there is no doubt the human element is in place. And I guess while it's great to get all the calls right, I do miss the part of the game that instant replay has in essence replaced. But like it or not, it begs the following question. Since instant replay is so in vogue in all sports, ie, a desire to make no mistakes officiating, why is the robot strike zone not being implemented? The technology apparently exists. I am not an advocate of such a move, but if a catch, tag, or foul ball is important enough for a replay, why not a missed third strike? What follows is the part of the interview pertaining to Suzukis take on the strike zone.

 

Then again, accurately measuring a catcher's defensive contributions with analytics? Suzuki isn't ready to admit that is even possible.

 

"You can't do it," the nine-year veteran said. "It's pretty cool they're trying to come up with those numbers, but at the same time it's the toughest thing to do. It's becoming a part of the game. It gets more people involved on the creative siFfde of the game. It's good for baseball and it's not good."

 

The former Johnny Bench Award winner as college baseball's top catcher at Cal State Fullerton misses the days after he first came to the majors in 2007 and was groomed by old-school catcher Jason Kendall with the Oakland A's. Back then, even with the QuesTec electronic evaluation system, umpires seemed to have more latitude to factor in the so-called human element.

 

The reputation of a given hitter or pitcher could be layered into the ball-strike decision in a way that rapidly seems to be disappearing in the PITCHf/x era, when umpires' ratings and ultimately their employment are tied to their performance against the eye in the sky.

 

"I think you earn your stripes," Suzuki said. "I think as a rookie, you shouldn't get the same calls as a Torii Hunter or a Joe Mauer. Guys like Torii and Joe, they shouldn't have that borderline pitch called on them. It's that respect factor. That's just how it should be."

 

In recent years, the strike zone isn't just skewing significantly lower. It's also becoming identity-blind.

 

"It really puts the umpires in a tough position," Suzuki said. "They have that box they have to (adhere to), and I know a lot of them don't like that box. They're getting graded on it, so they've got to do what they have to do. For the most part, I have a really good relationship with all of them. They tell me and they talk to me about it."

 

What's more, it wasn't that long ago that pitches that hit a catcher's target without requiring even the slightest twitch would bring automatic strike calls. Those that forced a catcher to reach across his body almost without fail were called balls.

 

That dynamic has changed as well, and Suzuki doesn't like it.

 

"Now it's just becoming more of, 'Shoot, if they think it's in the box, they're calling it a strike,' no matter what," Suzuki said. "That's good for catching but bad for hitting. When I first came up, you never saw that happen."

 

He took note of the July 28 independent league game in California in which former Oakland A's outfielder-turned-broadcaster Eric Byrnes called balls and strikes from the stands with a laptop hooked up to the PITCHf/x system. That same system, by Sportvision, is installed in all 30 big-league stadiums.

 

The concept of a robot umpire calling balls and strikes might not be so far-fetched anymore.

 

"It's getting a little ridiculous now," Suzuki said. "It's getting a little out of control."

 

What about the human element that baseball had always worked so hard to protect in the century before replay review and pace-of-game clocks?

 

"It's gone," Suzuki said, shaking his head. "It's gone."

 

Follow Mike Berardino at Twitter.com/MikeBerardino.