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Jim Joyce: Computers Prove How Good Umpires Are
1 Mar
Summary
- Longtime umpire Jim Joyce believes new tech highlights umpire skill.
- He noted umpires achieved over 96% accuracy on calls.
- Joyce supports expanding replay but not replacing human umpires.
This Major League Baseball season introduces a significant change with the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System, allowing players to dispute ball and strike calls. Veteran umpire Jim Joyce, who officiated for 30 seasons including three World Series, shared his perspective on this technological integration.
Joyce expressed a wait-and-see approach regarding the ABS system's accuracy, hoping due diligence has been performed. He posited that the technology might actually highlight the proficiency of human umpires, noting that upon his retirement in 2016, umpires were achieving over 96% accuracy on ball and strike calls.
While Joyce is open to expanding replay in other aspects of the game, he dismissed concerns about computers completely replacing umpires. He stated that such a scenario is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future, reinforcing the value of human judgment in officiating.
