Mixed Joys and Sorrows Over the Introduction of Robot Referees... Pitcher Worries, Batter Welcomes
Hyeon-Jong Yang, ‘No. 1 in active strikeouts' “Very negative… It will be difficult for pitchers”
Geon-Woo Park, ‘No. 1 in active batting average' “It would be great if there was consistency.”
One of the hot topics in Korean professional baseball this year is the automatic ball judging system (ABS).
As the ‘rules of the game' are changing, veteran players with more than a dozen years of experience are also paying close attention to the pros and cons and preparing for the 2024 season. 먹튀검증
Many of the players I met on the way to spring camp on the 30th set their goal for field training as adapting to the new regulations.
However, temperature differences appeared for each position.
The pitcher was worried about the stricter strike zone, and the hitter was excited about the consistency of the decisions.
Yang Hyeon-jong (KIA Tigers), who had a total of 1,947 strikeouts, expressed his negative views directly.
Yang Hyeon-jong achieved triple-digit strikeouts for 9 consecutive seasons until last year, approaching Song Jin-woo's 2,048 strikeouts, the all-time leader in this category, by 101.
Yang Hyun-jong said, “(ABS's) strike zone will naturally be smaller than the strike zone we have been playing baseball with so far,” and added, “I can say this as a pitcher representative, but I have a lot of negative thoughts.
“It will be difficult for the pitcher,” he said.
He added, “Even in high school, when (ABS's) artificial intelligence is used, there are more than 20 walks.
“It's hard to compare it to amateurs, but I think professional players also suffer a little bit,” he said.
Regarding the pitch clock, which is being piloted in the first half of the year, he said, "The probability of a strike is high if I throw with the balance I want, but if I am under time pressure, I have negative thoughts about whether I will get a strike or a powerful ball."
He added, “I checked the time while watching my video, and it was a bit odd (on the pitch clock),” and added, “It is a system to increase speed, but there are questions as to whether the game time will decrease.”
LG Twins' native ace Lim Chan-gyu also seemed concerned and studying the changing strike zone.
Lim Chan-gyu said, “We need to check where the ball catches the ball well and where there are a lot of bad hits,” and “I threw it when it was introduced to the second team on a trial basis, and in the case of curves, I hit what I thought was a ball (as a strike).
“There were times when I gave it away,” he recalled.
He explained, “If you draw the trajectory as large as possible, throw a slow curve, or throw a change-up through the backdoor, there seems to be a line (in the strike zone).
Even though it is a one-bound, a strike may occur.”
Others expressed positive or neutral positions.
Park Geon-woo (NC Dinos), who ranks first in batting average in the KBO League, welcomed the introduction of ABS.
In terms of all-time batting average, Park Geon-woo ranks third (0.326) after Lee Jeong-hoo (0.340), who advanced to MLB (MLB), and the late Jang Hyo-jo, former Samsung Lions second team coach (0.330).
Park Geon-woo said, "I was so confused because the strike zone was different (for each referee).
I thought it would be nice if a strike was given to a ball that missed one outside, and all referees would give it a strike."
Park Geon-woo said, "(Even if) the robot umpire's strike zone gives a ball that bounces once as a strike, the player just needs to prepare to deal with that.
As long as there is consistency, I think it will be okay.
I think it will be really good."
Chi-Hong Ahn (Hanwha Eagles) said, "I haven't experienced it yet.
I think I'll have to try it a few times to get used to it," and Chang-Ki Hong (LG Twins) said, "I heard that a ball that a batter can't hit can be a strike if it passes the zone, but I'm not sure yet." He said.
However, catcher Kim Hyeong-jun (NC Dinos), who must understand the pitcher's position, said, "I think you will get used to ABS after a while, but with the pitch clock, there is pressure to throw within the time, so I think it is important for (the pitcher) to adapt well and overcome it." “He predicted.
ABS is a system in which a machine called a 'robot referee' judges strikes and balls, and will be applied immediately from the 2024 season.
However, in order to ensure a soft landing, the standards for the left and right sides of the strike zone are expanded by 2 cm on both sides of home plate.
The upper and lower standards are 56.35% and 27.64% of the batter's height.
The pitch clock to reduce game time will be piloted in the first half of the year.
When the pitch clock is introduced, the pitcher must throw the ball within 18 seconds if there are no runners on base, or 23 seconds if there are runners on base.
