I feel for the minor league umps as MLB has decided to experiment with the rhythm and cadence of the grand old game, literally on the backs of the aspiring men in blue. It's not enough that MLB will now enlarge the physical size of the bases to increase offense and institute a pitch clock to cattle prod hurlers who take their sweet time between deliveries but in 2023, all Triple-A stadiums will have robo-umps.... eg, Artificial Intelligence systems calling balls and strikes. Not content with analytics and frame by frame instant replay that has slowly robbed the game of it's pleasing imperfections and humanness, their X-Box approach to the strike zone will only add to the homogenized experience and more predictable outcomes. A boon for their sports gambling partners who hate spontaneity and added risk. As for the game itself absent human vagaries it won't take pitchers and hitters very long to understand the exact dimensions of the strike zone and adjust accordingly. Gone will be chasing balls in the dirt or educational chin music for batters who get too comfortable. Now, they'll just be pitching to a perfect spot - to professional hitters who will train themselves to only swing at balls deemed hittable by the divine decree of the Amazon Cloud. Just the thing to peel younger fans away from their phones is more soulless technology and the death knell for any human element that remains. And we thought steroids would kill baseball. MLB calls this an experiment but rest assured, FanDuel is already taking odds that the AI umps will be here by 2024. Sure, the umps blow a call from time to time but that's part of the game's enduring appeal. Five stars for the umpires, while they last. read more