April ended on a high note, and the Jays’ 2021 season seems just about ready to finally take off, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t still a whole lot of questions still surrounding the club. Which is good, because it is time for us to once again open up the ol’ mail bag!
Re: umpires letter above - "It’s not what we paid for." I disagree. It's exactly what I pay for - entertainment. Sports fandom allows us to experience a broad range of emotions "safely", without any personal risk. That includes positive emotions, like joy, triumph, and togetherness, but it also includes negative emotions, like despair, defeat, and anger.
Getting angry about a bad strike call is part of the fan experience. What would really be improved about the game's entertainment value if strike calls were always perfect? I suppose we could increase our marvel at the hitter's ability a little, but we would lose out on a lot, including empathizing with the batter's anger at the unfairness of an incorrect call. These moments bring us closer to the players.
The umpire's role is, to a certain extent, to be the "villains" of the story - they snatch away our successes, foil our best-laid plans, and so on. Being part of 50,000 fans boooing a borderline call is a tremendous emotional experience, and one that would be lost with a robot calling the game.
This was terrific reading after the Jays put up 13 runs and Ray looked dominant! Thanks for helping to pass the time before a 7 pm Saturday start.
Re: umpires letter above - "It’s not what we paid for." I disagree. It's exactly what I pay for - entertainment. Sports fandom allows us to experience a broad range of emotions "safely", without any personal risk. That includes positive emotions, like joy, triumph, and togetherness, but it also includes negative emotions, like despair, defeat, and anger.
Getting angry about a bad strike call is part of the fan experience. What would really be improved about the game's entertainment value if strike calls were always perfect? I suppose we could increase our marvel at the hitter's ability a little, but we would lose out on a lot, including empathizing with the batter's anger at the unfairness of an incorrect call. These moments bring us closer to the players.
The umpire's role is, to a certain extent, to be the "villains" of the story - they snatch away our successes, foil our best-laid plans, and so on. Being part of 50,000 fans boooing a borderline call is a tremendous emotional experience, and one that would be lost with a robot calling the game.
TL;DR - robot umps bad. Human umps good.