New strike zone evaluator in MLB

Baseball is using a new strike zone evaluator in replace of QuesTec that is already available in every major league park. QuesTec was only available in about a third of MLB stadiums.

The new system, called Zone Evaluation, relies on pitch-tracking data already collected by cameras in all 30 parks and distributed through applications on MLB.com and iTunes. Zone Evaluation software will rate umpire performance more quickly and accurately than QuesTec, according to Mike Port, baseball’s vice president for umpiring.

“It’s an upgrade from where we were,” Port said in a telephone interview. “The umpires, they don’t want to miss a pitch any more than a batter wants to strike out. Where the Z.E. system will give us a lot of help is more data to help identify any trends: ‘The last three plate jobs, you missed seven pitches that were down and in. Here’s how one of the supervisors can help you adjust your head angle or your stance to have a better chance of getting those pitches.’”

A former catcher, I remember umpires typically setting up inside, where they had a better look at pitches on the inside corner of the plate. They'd have to guess more on the outside corner due to the angle they incurred by setting up inside. Umpires who guessed more in favor of strikes on the outside corner could be "set up" with the right kind of framing. If this new system forces umps into a uniform approach on calling balls and strikes, baseball will be better off.

I've always wondered why baseball doesn't use a monitoring system that creates a strike zone field that is hooked up to the scoreboard. Let the fans see what's going on in real time. Take strike zone calls away from umpires. Why not get it right every time rather than leave calling balls and strikes to human error?