New York Mets Pitcher Trevor Williams Trolls MLB Robot Umpires Decision

To some, the advent of robot umpires is scary. But to some, a sign of things to come. As for Trevor Williams, the announcement of robot umpires having more responsibility is nothing if not funny.

In a recent announcement, Major League Baseball has given its assent to robot umpires at the Triple A level. This would likely have the technology one step away from the major leagues. And while several pitchers may express their concern, Trevor Williams of the New York Mets has chosen a different route.

Major League Baseball, in a shocking move to many, has put out a requirement for operators for the Automated Ball and Strike (ABS) System for several Triple A teams. Ostensibly putting the technology only one step away from the majors. And while the MLB Umpires Association has a clause in their contract allowing for the advent of robot umpiring, the nature of the technology is still doubted by many players.

Trevor Williams takes to Twitter

While discussion around the move ensues around the country, Trevor Williams has taken to humor to make his point. Tweeting out a snippet of a robot seemingly malfunctioning and making weird facial expressions, Williams made his point known.

Pitching for the New York Mets, it seems as though Trevor Williams has made his love for the robot umpires well known. And with the mound at Citi Field boasting a lineup with Scherzer, DeGrom, and Williams in rotation, batters likely don’t need another concern clouding their mind.

The advent of technology, while some consider it inevitable, might well need some innovation before inclusion into the game we love.

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Robot Umpiring in 2022

Robot umpiring was first tried out in the independent Atlantic League in its All-Star Game in 2019. The League seemed satisfied with the technology and stuck with it for the second half of the season. The system was also used in the Arizona Fall League for top prospects in 2019.

However, it was clear that the technology would need some work. There were several complaints of its calls on breaking balls at the time. And while the technology will certainly have improved now, it might still need some improvement on those metrics.

But it is not as though the hierarchy in baseball is unaware of the challenges such a system presents. MLB’s Chief Operations and Strategy Officer, the guy taking the calls on the inclusion of robot umps in the majors, said as much.

Marinak spoke about how identifying the zone could be different for different players. “Is it a three-dimensional zone? How does the zone shift from hitter to hitter?”, said Marinak.

He further went on to mention how the zone may need to redraw every other pitch depending on the position of the hitter. Questioning whether it was a fixed zone, Marinak proceeded to ask if the zone would change based on the hitter’s height. And if so, would it matter if he was squatting or standing up?

While the technology may still need to be developed, it will be imported into the sport at some point. And if that is to come to pass, we certainly would be in for a reinvention of the game in a different way.