Robots!
J.J. Cooper, Baseball America:
History will be made tonight.
There has been a lot of talk about the benefits and drawbacks of automated umpires for calling balls and strikes. Advocates and skeptics. But on Tuesday night in the independent Pacific Association in a game between the San Rafael Pacifics and Vallejo Admirals, everyone will get to see an automated strike zone in action in a professional game.
The two-game automated umpire trial is the brainchild of former big league outfielder Eric Byrnes, who will serve as the "Strike Zone Umpire" for the two games as a charity fundraiser for the Pat Tillman Foundation.